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LETTERS 
FROM EUROPE 



BY 



JOHN W! FORNEY. 

SECRETARY OF THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. 

PROPKIETOK AND EDITOR OF THE 
"PHILADELPHIA PEESS" AND "WASHINGTON CHRONICLE." 



1^ 



WITH A PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR, ENGRAVED ON STEEL, BY SARTAIN, 
AND A COMPLETE ALPHABETICAL INDEX. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS 

306 CHESTNUT STREET. 



I THE LIBRARlH 
IjOF COMGRESSJ 

jlwASH IHGTOyj 



hartI 

RESsI 



Entered according to Act of Congress in tlie year 1867, by 

T. B. PETEKSON & BEOTHEES, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern 
District of Pennsylvania. 



3 <!^ 3 X ,3 







»j 



m 



PREFACE 



These letterS; now collected into one volume, in 
response to what seems to be a very general desire 
on the part of my friends and the public, were 
written as well to occupy the hours of anxiety com- 
mon to all strangers in foreign lands, as to present 
to the readers of the Philadelphia Peess and 
Washington Cheonicle my honest impressions of 
men and things abroad. Some errors may have 
occurred in the haste of unassisted composition, but 
every line was inspired by a sincere desire to pro- 
mote the cause of human progress, and to prove 
to my countrymen the incalculable advantages of 
their own government over that of any other nation 

upon earth. 

J. W. F. 

Philadelphia, 

November, 1S67. 



(5) 



CONTENTS. 



I.— OUTWARD BOUND. 

Life at Sea — A Floating Street — Occupation and Amusements 
on Board — Captain Judkins — George Peabody — Aristocratic 
Preservers of Game and Fish — Scandinavian Experiences., . . 19 

II.— FIRST DAY AT LIVERPOOL. 

Mr. Peabody's Farewell at Queenstown — American Resolutions 
Presented to Him — Running up the Irish Sea — Entering the 
Mersey — Solidity the Character of Liverpool — St, John's Market 
on Saturday Night , . 30 

III.— IN LIVERPOOL. 

The Docks — Solid Architecture — Stone Buildings — Cleanliness 
of Streets and Roads — Former Anti-Union Prejudice in Eng- 
land — Defeat of the Rebellion reacts on the English People.... 34 

IV.— RAILWAYISM AND FACTORIES. 

The British Railroad System — Fine Roads and Good Manage- 
ment — The " Left Baggage " Room — No Baggage Checks — 
Park-like Country — Ascendancy of the Oligarchy — Sir F. 
Crossley's Mammoth Factory at Halifax — Working of the Co- 
operative System — Perfection of Machinery — A day well 
Spent , 38 

v.— IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 

The Speaker's Gallery — Houses of Parliament and their Historical 
Vicinity — Westminster Abbey and Hall — The Commons' 
Chamber — Its Inconvenience — The Speaker's Peruke — Minis- 
terial and Opposition Benches — Disraeli and Gladstone — Con- 
• versational tone of Parliamentary Oratory — Debate on the Re- 
form Bill — Popular Victory 4S 

(7) 



8 Contents, 

VI.— REFORM AND REVOLUTION. 

Liberal Triumphs in Parliament — Extension of the Suffrage — 
Overthrow of the Close Borough System — Influence of Ameri- 
can Example — Disraeli leads the New Revolution — His Return 
to Liberal Principles 49 

VII.— BRITISH SYMPATHY V^ITH FREEDOM. 

English Friends of the United States — The Working Classes 
Sympathize with the Union — Thomas Bayley Potter, M. P. for 
Rochdale — H. W. Beecher, John Bright, Goldwin Smith, and 
the American Diplomatists in London and Liverpool 53 

Vm.— LONDON AMUSEMENTS. 

Theatricals Inferior to the American — Drury Lane Theatre — 
The Princess's — Prince of Wales's — The Haymarket — Olym- 
pic — Opera Houses — Covent Garden and Her Majesty's — 
Patti and Tietjens — High Prices of Admission — Alhambra 
and Cremorne — Intemperance ...« 56 

IX.— ENGLISH FRIENDS OF AMERICAN 
INSTITUTIONS. 

Goldwin Smith's Address at Manchester — His Personal Knowl- 
edge of our Country — Liberal English Statesmen 59 

X.— THE PEABODY FUND. 

Visit to Peabody Square, Islington — Sir Curtis M. Lampson and 
his Colleagues — Unpaid Board of Management — Housing the 
Laborious Poor — What the Fund may Accumulatively Per- 
form — The Structure at Islington — Working of the System — 
Improvement, Moral and Sanitary — Mr. A. T. Stewart of 
New York 62 

XL— SPURGEON'S TABERNACLE 

Sunday in London — Charles H. Spurgeon, the Popular Preacher 
— His Church Described — The Congregation — The Minister 
and his Sermon — His Ability, Energy, and Weil-Doing 69 



Contents, 9 

XII.— JOHN BRIGHT, M. P, 

John Bright, Leader of the Liberals — ^Familiar with American 
Affairs — Anxiety for our Success — The Irish in America — 
The Colored People — Fenianism — American Correspondence 
of the London Newspapers — Its Evil Purpose — Strikes — The 
Labor Question — Mr. Bright's Parliamentary Record — His 
Popularity in the United States ^^ 



XIIL— LANGHAM HOTEL. 

English and American Hotels — Superiority of the Latter — Cost 
of Living in London — Description of the Langham Hotel — A 
Philadelphian in Charge 79 

XIV.— REBEL LEADERS IN EXILE. 

Rebel Emissaries in Paris — Change of Opinion in Europe — 
Downfall of Confederate Cause and Leaders — John C. Breck- 
inridge In London — Judah Benjamin, G. N. Sanders, Lewis 
P. Wigfall, and Robert Toombs — Jefferson Davis 82 

XV.— THE CRYSTAL PALACE AT 
SYDENHAM. 

Underground Railroad — Sir Joseph Paxton — Prince Albert — 
Crystal Palace Described — Music and Singing — Antiquity and 
Manufacture — Nature and Art — The Gallery — A Soldier of 
the Army of Freedom 85 

XVI.— WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 

The Monumental Statuary — The Great Departed — London an 
Asylum for the Unfortunate — Footsteps of the Past — Our own 
God's-Acre of Brave Patriots — A Nation's Gratitude , 89 

XVII.— SUNDAY AT WINDSOR. 

The Castle — The Terrace — Eton — Service in St. George's 
Chapel — High Church Ceremonials in Contrast with Spurgeon's 
Tabernacle , 93 



lo Contents, 

XVIII.— AMERICAN RAILROAD STOCK, 

American Securities in England — Pennsylvania Central Railroad 
Stock — A Popular Investment — Extension of the Line— Ad- 
vantages to Philadelphia — Union Pacific Railroad — Mineral 
Wealth to be Developed — A New Line of Steamers from 
Philadelphia to Liverpool 95 

XIX.— LOW WAGES AND LITTLE 
EDUCATION. 

Justice of English '* Strikes " — Labor Underpaid — Starvation — 
Education Scanty and Indifferent — Mr. Frazer's Report on 
American Schools — Superiority of our Educational System. . . 100 

XX,— VISIT TO SHAKSPEARE'S GRAVE. 

Mr, E. E. Flower, a Friend of America — The Old House and 
the New Place — The Poet's Prediction on Civil War — 
Shakspearian Relics — His Troth-Ring — Nobility of Soul and 
Nobility of Title — Blenheim Palace — Warwick Castle and 
Kenilworth — Chatsworth — H'addon Hill — Newstead Abbey.... 104 

XXL— FREE-TRADE AND PROTECTION. 

Free-Trade the Modern English Platform — Elihu Burritt Favors 
it — England Slowly Unlearned Protection — Bounty to the 
Cunard Steamers — Circumstances Alter Cases 112 

XXIL— UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. 

Antiquity of Oxford — Rich in Lessons to the Mind — " Tom 
Brown's School-Days " — Professor Goldwin Smith — His Char- 
acter of Cromwell — The Bodleian Library 1 14 

XXIIL— RAILWAYISM. 

British Railwayism — Clearing House — Railway Statistics — 
Pennsylvania Central Railway *. 119 



Contents, 1 1 

XXIV.— OUR POLITICAL EXAMPLE. 

Anti- Americanism of the London Press — English and Ameri- 
can Strikes — Judg#Kelley at Mobile — Concession of Popular 
Rights in England 121 

XXV.— FROM LONDON TO PARIS. 

Crossing the Channel — Sunshine returns — Paris without a Paral- 
lel — Character of the Parisians — France in Contrast with 
England and the United States — Napoleon's Sway — Changes 
in Paris — Unpaved Streets — A Day's Amusements — Sunday 
in Paris — The Catholics 125 

XXVL— THE UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION 
OF 1867. 

France Placed Predominant — The United States Department — 
Prizes to American Exhibitors — Dr. Evans and the Sanitary 
Collection — Philadelphia Inventions and Applications — Phila- 
delphia Central Fair and Refreshment Saloons — Literature of 
the Sanitary Commission 133 

XXVIL— UNION TRIUMPHS. 

District of Columbia Election and Victory — Inevitable Spread of 
Republicanism — State of Europe — And of the United States.. 144 

XXVIIL— GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE. 

How Napoleon Governs — The Corps Legislatif — Its Chan|J)er — 
Historic Associations — The Leaders of the Revolution of 
1848 — How the Members are Chosen — The Senate — Council 
of State — The Cabinet — No Freedom of Speaking or Writing 
— Journalism in France — American Community in Paris 147 

XXIX.— DOMESTIC LIFE IN FRANCE. 

Philadelphian Mechanics — The Producing Classes in France — 
Living in Paris — Visit to M. Laboulaye, Author of ** Paris in 
America " — His Homestead near Versailles — His Pro-Ameri- 
can W"ritings ; 1 54 



1 2 Contents, 

XXX.— PRIZES OF THE EXPOSITION 
DISTRIBUTED. 

Palace of Industry — Champs Elysees — Imperial Celebrities — 
Napoleon, Eugenie and the Prince Imperial — Prince Napoleon 
— The Sultan — Honors to Pennsylvanians — The Future of 
France i6o 

XXXI.— TOMBS OF NAPOLEON AND 
LAFAYETTE. 

Church of the Invalldes — Description of Napoleon's Tomb and 
its Surroundings — Arch of Triumph — Grave of Lafayette in 
the Family Cemetery », . t . . . 1 66 

• XXXIL— CHAMBER OF THE FRENCH 
SENATE. 

The Semi-Circular Hall — Internal Arrangements — The People 
Excluded — Historical Associations— Constitution of the Senate 
— Debates on the Mexican Question — Maximilian's Defeat and 
Death 173 

XXXIIL— THE CATACOMBS OF PARIS. 



Dramatic Compliments to the Dead — How the Catacombs were 
Made — Wholesale Removal of Human Remains — A True 
NecroQplis — Literature of the Catacombs — Subterranean Visit 
— Vestibule Lined with Human Bones — Fontaine De La Sama- 
ritaine — Death and Burial in Paris— The Moral 177 

XXXIV.— SUNDAY IN PARIS. 

The Great Catholic Churches — Crowds at the Exposition — 
The Bois De Boulogne — The Empress Eugenia — Religion 
and Revelry — Versailles — Horse-Races — The Market-Hails — 
Careless Labor — Nocturnal Theatricals — The Deer in the 
Forest — The Grisettes — Saturnalia — Napoleon and the Sultan 
— Imperial Impresario. i8a 



Contents, 13 

XXXV.— THE PALACE OF THE EXPOSITION. 

Exposition of Industry and Art — Champ De Mars — Historical 
Association — Description of the Palace— Portrait of Mr. 
Lincoln— The World's Fair ^ 189 

XXXVL— IMPERIAL PRINTING OFFICE. 

Inferiority of French Newspapers — Scant Liberty of the Press — 
Imperial Printing Office — Employes and Wages — Variety of 
Languages — Triumph of Typography — Playing-Card Mo- 
nopoly — The ** Plant " — Circulation of the Bible 197 

XXXVIL— SOLFERINO AND GETTYSBURGo 

Rothermel's Battle of Gettysburg — Panorama of the Battle of 
Solferino — A Veteran Guide — A Suggested Panorama — Union 
Leaders and Soldiers .' . . 20a 

XXXVIII.— PARIS TO SWITZERLAND. 

Reminded of Home — Foreign Railroads — Women Working in 
the Fields- — Swiss Barns— Division of the Land — Descent of the 
Jura — American Reconstruction — Continental Sympathy with 
the Radicals — Good Results of Emancipation — Future of the 
South 205 

XXXIX.— SWITZERLAND. 

Palace of the Louvre — Geneva — Lake Leman — :Swiss Hotels — 
English Tourists— Female Field Laborers — Paucity of Mendi- 
cants — England's Universal Shilling — The Glaciers — Session 
of the Swiss Legislature — Nature of the Government — No 
Veto — Revenue and Army — Roads — Education — Swiss Inde- 
pendence — The two Republics — Pennsylvanian German 209 

XL.— SWISS TOWNS. 

Pedestrians in Switzerland — Interlachen — Clerical Zeal — Thun — 
Louis Napoleon — Lausanne — Lucerne — The Rhigi — Mount 
Pilatus — Lake and Town of Zurich 222 



14 Contents, 

XLI.— THE SWISS REPUBLIC. 

Predominant Religion — John Calvin — Celebrities of Geneva — 
Mont Blanc — Savoy — Watch-Making — Underpaid Workmen 
— Free-Trade and Protection — Horace Upton , 227 

XLII.— BADEN-BADEN. 

Legalized Gambling — The Conversations Haus — Wealth and 
Poverty — The Grand Duke — Infatuated Gamblers 232 

XLIIL— FEUDALITY AND GAMBLING, 

A Thriving Grand Duchy — Ruins of Heidelberg Castle — Monu- 
ments of Feudality — Licensed Gambling — The Ball at Baden- 
Baden 238 

^ XLIV.— IN NASSAU. 

The Prussian King in Wiesbaden — More Licensed Gambling — 
Improvements at Homburg — Poverty of the Laborers — Hos- 
tility Towards " Prussian Rule — A Glimpse of Frankfort — 
Harshness of Conscription — Europe Cannot Disband her 
Armies — Human Progress 242 

XLV.— COLOGNE. 

War Preparations — The Seven weeks War of 1866 — The Rh'ine 
well guarded — Prussia and France 249 

XLVL— UPON THE RHINE. 

Disadvantage of Excessive Praise — American Rivers — The Ever- 
lasting Florin — Real Beauties of the Rhine — The Feeling 
Towards Prussia — Ehrenbreitstein — Frankfort — Prussian Con- 
scription — Progress 251 

XLVIL— BELGIUM. 

Confusion of European Coin — Belgic Legislature — Brussels — 
MaximlHan and Carlotta 257 



Contents, 1 5 

XLVIIL— EUROPEAN WAGES. 

German Names in Pennsylvania — Recollecting a Language — ■ 
The Seasons in Germany — Temperance of the People — 
Looking to a Future in America — Wealth and Industry of 
Belgium — Wages and Prices — Poverty and Free-Trade. ..... a6o 

XLIX.—ANTWERP. 

Former Greatiiess of Antwerp — Trade with New York — Rubens 
— The Descent from the Cross — Honor to the Illustrious De- 
. parted — Monuments in England, France, and Germany — 
Quentin Matsys — American Future in Art ; 266 

L.— HOLLAND. 

A Land Wrested from the Sea — Windmills — The Great Dykes 
— Cost of Maintaining Them — Canals — The Hague — Rotter- 
dam — Amsterdam — Motley's Dutch History — His Contem- 
plated Greater Work — Interruption from Washington 271 

LL— ENGLISH COUNTRY INNS. ^ 

Rural Hostelries — Celebrated Inns — Hampton Court Palace— 
" The Peacock "" at Rowsley 280 

LIL— THE IRISH CHURCH. 

The State Church in Ireland — The Minority Governs the Ma- 
jority — Mazzini on the Church in Italy — Action of Catholicity 
— Irish Church Reform — The Question Fairly Stated 283 

LIII.—ROYAL AUTHORSHIP. 

Queen Victoria's Biography of Prince Albert — Future Re vela 
tions — The Prince's Reputed Liberality— The Heir-Apparent 
— Other Scions of Royalty^ — A Dark Future. , . , 292 



1 6 Contents, 

LIV.— ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL, 

View of St. Paul's — Description of the Building — Christopher 
Wren and John Evelyn — The Great Fire of London — Old St. 
Paul's — The "Resurgam" Stone — The Dome — Wren's 
Monument — His Works and Remuneration — Classic Monu- 
ments — Nelson and Wellington — The Rule of Duty Z95 

LV.— THE REFORM BILL. 

How the Royal Assent is Given — A Means to a Great End — 
Subserviency of the Middle Class — Power of the Aristocracy — 
Carlyle's Political Apostacy 304 

LVL— THE TOWER OF LONDON. 

Julius Caesar and William the Conqueror — Traitor's Gate — The 
Bloody Tower — Bell Tower — White Tower — Raleigh's Cell 
— Beauchamp and Bowyer Towers — Horse Armory — Queen 
Elizabeth's Armory — The Crown Jewels — Royal and Noble 
Victims — Fortress, Palace, and Prison — Lessons from the Past 
— Illustrious Inmates — Tower Hill — The Tower Restored — 
William Penn , 306 

LVn.— THAMES TUNNEL. 

Sunday in London — A Round of Visits — Underground Railroad 
— Thames Tunnel — Inferior River Steamboats — Billingsgate 
— A Forest of Masts — Tunnel Turrets — The Teredo Navalis 
— The Tunnel Projected by Brunei — Preceding Failures — 
The Object — Process and Progress of Execution — Completion 
of the Work — Cost — Anecdotes — Description 319 

LVHL— CHESTER AND EATON HALL. 

Old Chester — Antiquity — The " Rows " — Civic Walls — Eaton 
Hall — Marquis of Westminister — Extensive House Proprietor- 
ship — A Palace out of Town — Entail and Primogeniture— 
Ground-Rents and House-Rents — The Name of " Grosvenor" 
— A Doomed System — Popular Rights and Agitation 328 



Contents, 17 

LIX.— PEOPLES AND PLACES CONTRASTED. 

Foreigners' Peculiarities — Europe ahd America — English and 
French — Chewing Eschewed — Provincial Dialects — Liberty of 
Speech — Mr. Disraeli's Historical Parallel— Paris and London 
Omnibuses — London Chop-Houses — Dolly's — Simpson's — 
The Shilling Dinner — Waiters' Fees — Parisian Bestaurants — 
French Currency and Coinage — Money Unification 339 

LX.— FREE TRADE AND PROTECTION. 

Anglo-French Free-Trade Treaty— Evil Operations in Eng- 
land — Continental Manufacturing Progress — The Creed and 
Williams' Pamphlet— Its Application to the United States — 
Tendency of Free Trade to Reduce Wages 348 

LXL— FOREIGN STEAMBOATS. 

Steam-Travel by Land and Sea — Inferior European River Steam- 
boats — Antwerp to London — Thames Steamboats — Low Fares 
— Miserable Craft — Lowering the Funnel — Noisy Navigation 
— Flibbertigibbet on the Thames — Sights on the River — 
Costly Bridges — London and Paris Improvements — The Smoke 
Nuisance — Steam-Ferries on the Mersey — A Hint to Barnum. 358 

LXIL— FOREIGN CAPITAL. 

Capital Coming Westward — Opportunity for Profitable Invest- 
ment — Free Trade^a Failure — Education and Competition. . . 365 

LXIIL— HOMEWARD BOUND. 

Ocean Steamers — The Iron Vessels — Emigration — Cunard Mail 
Line — Receipts and Profits — The Carrying Trade — American 
Enterprise — Sunday at Sea — Advantage of Foreign Travel — 
Love of Country 367 

CONCLUSION. 

Conclusion 375 



1 8 Contents. 



ADDENDA. 



THE TIMES OFFICE. 

Labyrinthine Approach — Imposing-Room — Telegrams — Proof- 
Reading — Composing-Room — Old-Fashioned Cases — Editors 
and Reporters — Library — Restaurant — Sick-Fund — Not in the 
Union — Compositors'" Earnings — Stereotyping' — Paper- Wetting 
Machine — Presses — Steam-Action Machines — Konig and Ap- 
plegath — Hoe's Lightning Press — Circulation of " The Times " 
— Economy — Private Telegraph Line 379 

THE SCHUTZENFEST. 

The Schwytzers — Gessler's Castle — The Hople Gasse — Death of 
Gessler — Lake Scenery — Altorf — The Tellen-Platte — Was 
Tell a Myth? — The Schutzenfest — Swiss Soldiers — Military 

' Education — The Festival — An American Speech — Prizes 386 

PAVEMENTS, COACHES, AND CABS. 

Streets of Paris — Asphalt Pavement — How to Make It — Place 
de la Concorde — European Roads — Parisian Streets — Car- 
riages — Fares and Regulations — London Cabs — Hansoms, 
Broughams and Clarences — Cheap Locomotion — The Toll 
Nuisance 393 

INDEX. 

A full and complete Alphabetical and Analytical Index to all 
subjects spoken of in this volume 399-406 



LETTEES FROM EUEOPE. 



I.— OUTWAED BOUND. 

LIFE AT SEA — A FLOATING STREET — OCCUPATIONS AND 

AMUSEMENTS ON BOARD — CAPTAIN JUDKINS — GEORGE 

PEABODY — ARISTOCRATIC PRESERVES OF GAME AND FISH 

— SCANDINAVIAN EXPERIENCES. 

At Sea, 
EoTAL Mail STEAri?HiP Scotia, 
May 8, 1867. 

After a severe gale, which lasted nearly two days, we 
rose this morning under a bright blue sky, and once more 
inhaled the exquisite breath of May coming fresh over the 
sparkling bosom of the sea. According to all the opinions 
of those learned in such matters, we shall be at Queens- 
town on Friday evening, the 10th, or Saturday morning, 
the 11th, and at Liverpool no later than Sunday, the 12th. 
Our noble ship moves on her majestic course at the rate of 
fourteen knots (miles) an hour, an average of over three 
hundred miles a day. Everybody seems to be in fine spirits 
this morning ; for however novel a voyage like this is to 
many of us, we have had a sufficient taste of Old Ocean to 
make us long for the more substantial and familiar com- 
forts of dry and solid land. I can hear my fellow-passengers 
making their arrangements for the shore, and as they are 
convassing the routes, hotels, customs, and charges of the 
foreign countries we shall soon enjoy with the blessing of 
Divine Providence, I am admonished of my promise to 

(19) 



20 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

write an " Occasional " letter to my readers of the Phila- 
delphia Press and Washington Chronicle. It seems 
strange that I should address them from such a i^lace. For 
nearly ten years I have maintained a frank intercourse with 
most of them as the historian of domestic scenes and strug- 
gles, and now I am about to talk to them from over the 
waters — to relate my experience in lands in which, however 
much I have read of them, I shall doubtless be almost as 
strange as poor Robinson Crusoe when he was left, sur- 
prised and solitary, on the Island of Juan Fernandez. For 
all experience tells that the most "careful student of foreign 
habits and history finds all his conceptions at fault, and all 
his calculations baffled, when he applies the surer test of 
actual observation and personal contact. 

I have been agreeabl}^ surprised to find myself, in these 
last hours of our voyage, almost wholly undisturbed by the 
new experience of a life at sea. Man}'- have been compelled 
to forego the table and to remain in their rooms, but the 
roll of the ship has not prevented me from enjoying the de- 
licious air of the ocean in fair weather, the temptations of 
the bill of fare, or the supreme blessing of a good sleep. The 
Scotia is indeed well arranged to ward ofi" the usual terrors 
of the deep. As I study her splendid proportions, her won- 
derful accommodations, and her resistless march through 
the waves, I marvel that anybody on board should not feel 
comparatively comfortable. Some writer has compared 
these magnificent vessels to floating hotels. The Scotia 
better deserves the name of a floating street or village. 
Our community consists of more than four hundred souls — 
two hundred and fifty-one passengers and one hundred and 
ninety-five officers, sailors, engineers, .firemen, cooks, and 
servants. My residence (state-room numbered 263 and 
264) is located down stairs in a neat little court, near one 
of the main avenues, and I am very nicely neighbored with 
friend J. E, Caldwell, the Chestnut street jeweler, on the 
east ; the inimitable John Gr. Saxe on the west, and Mr. 



Outward Bound, <ii 

Florence, tlie popular comedian, over the way. To make 
the whole afiair a genuine copy of domestic life, next door 
to me is a gentleman who snores almost as loud as old 
Neptune roars ; and two babies (twins by their voices) re- 
gale me with an occasional concert of squalls. We visit 
each other as on the more solid portion of this planet, and 
can be as social or as solitary as we. please. 

Although the wind has blown steadily since we dropped 
down j^ew York Bay at two o'clock on Wednesday 
afternoon, the |irst of May, we have had no positive storm ; 
but we have been kept "below" -the best part of the 
passage. The dining-saloons of the Scotia are as large as 
the ordinar}^ public i^arlors of the Continental, without the 
high ceilings, and are elegantly furnished. Here we are 
served with five meals every day, after the English fashion — 
breakfast at 8 A. m., lunch at 12 m., dinner at 4, tea at 1, 
and supper at 10 P. m. Everything is well served; and 
though I have enjoyed better cooking and far better 
coffee, I shall be well pleased if I fare as well in the 
different scenes that lie beyond. The almost constant 
occupation of the dining-rooms does not prevent the guests 
from making free use of them in the intervals. The cloth 
is scarcely removed before they begin to enjoy themselves 
in books, conversation, cards, chequers, or writing in their 
journals or to their friends at home. There is, therefore, 
a sort of levee every evening, lasting until eleven o'clock, 
when there is a general departure for subterranean repose. 
So easy is the motion of the ship, that you soon forget the 
sensation of the sea and the many fears that fright tlie 
souls of fearful landsmen. The Scotia deserves her fame. 
Her perfect" and ponderous machinery, her strong and 
complete precaution against confusion and danger, the 
order of her crew, the matchless courtesy of her attendants, 
make her almost as pleasant to the traveller as the best of 
the North River boats, with their generous comforts and 
renowned safety. The line to which she belongs, tliough 



22 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

owned by a Corporation, is under the liberal patronage of 
the British Government, and commanded by officers who 
adopt and enforce the austere manners and discipline that 
characterize and give security to a British man-of-war. 

Captain Charles Judkins, who has the Scotia in charge, 
is as good a specimen of a British seaman as ever was 
sung by Dibdin, painted by Lawrence, or described by 
Marryat. Some odd stories are told of his brusque 
deportment, and not a few contend that he prefers to be 
rude to his passengers ; but what I have seen of him 
impresses me favorably, and as he has a great and a perilous 
responsibility, his guests should gladly compromise by 
accepting his superior and vigilant fidelity to his trust as 
a fair set-off to any reticence of speech or roughness of 
manner. I was touched by his bearing on Sunday last, 
when, in obedience to custom, the fine but ostentatious 
service of the Church of England was celebrated in the 
forward saloon. Captain Judkins officiating, as is his wont, 
in the absence of an ordained clergyman. The whole crew, 
deck-hands and all, and the great majority of the passen- 
gers, attended, and the ceremony was a* scene that would 
have inspired an artist : the great ship, all sails set, and 
under a full head of steam, rushing on to her destination, 
trampling down the noisy waves in her majestic progress, 
while the human beings she carried were praising and 
imploring the protection of the living God ! It was easy 
to see that every heart was stirred. However comforting 
the sense of security in such a vessel as this, there was not 
one who did not think of the dear ones at home, and, with 
a shudder, of the thousands who had started out in as 
gallant a craft and with a confidence as proud as our own, 
and who had been lost in these mysterious deeps, many 
almost in sight of the welcome port, and some even in 
view of their domestic fields. And as Captain Judkins 
read the service — the prayers and the close and well- 
I'easoned senr.on printed for precisely such occaslous — the 



Outward Bound, 23 

effect was almost startling. The services closed with the 
Old Hundred, sung by the whole congregation. As these 
mingled voices sounded over the rush of the steamer and 
the roar of the waters, they were at once a thanksgiving 
and an appeal to God 

We have many interesting people on board ; among them 
more than twenty Philadelphians. Nearly every profes- 
sion is represented, the Stage only less numerously than 
Commerce. No incident has marred the voyage. We 
have not seen an iceberg, and only one or two solitary 
vessels. A more congenial company never sailed from the 
New World to the Old, and when we separate, the regret 
at parting will be increased by the recollection that our 
intercourse might have been profitably prolonged. Of 
course, George Peabody is the central figure of our circle. 
As I studied the venerable philanthropist yesterda}^, as he 
lay dozing on one of the sofas in the forward saloon, I con- 
fessed I had never seen a nobler or more imposing figure. 
Never has human face spoken more humane emotions. 
The good man's soul seems to shine out of every feature 
and lineament. His fine head, rivalling the best of the old 
aristocracy, and blending the ideals of benevolence and in- 
tegrity, his tranquil and pleasing countenance, and his sil- 
ver hair, crown a lofty form of unusual dignity and grace. 
The work of this one plain American citizen silences hy- 
percriticism and challenges gratitude. He has completed 
it without leaving an excuse for ridicule or censure. He 
has given millions to deserving charity, without pretence 
or partiality. The wealth gathered by more than a gene- 
ration of honest enterprise and business sagacity, he dis- 
tributes among the poor of the two nations in which he 
accumulated it — first liberally providing for his own blood 
and kindred. If this is not an honorable close of a well- 
spent life, what is ? That the example of George Peabod}^ 
will awaken imitation in England, I do not know Un- 
happily for the British aristocracy they do not respond to 

2 



24 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

the call of a genial philanthropy, and it may Ibe claimed 
that none but an American can truly feel for the sufferings 
of the unfriended poor. Therefore, I am not surprised 
that before Mr. Peabody left the United States he was sat- 
isfied that what he has done for London will be surpassed 
by two of his opulent friends for the city of New York. 
It is needless to disclose their names, or to anticipate the 
details of what will probably be the most munificent con- 
tributions to a noble object in American annals. We have 
only to recollect how much necessity there is for the ex- 
ercise of an enlarged liberality in the commercial metropo- 
lis of our own country, to wish " God speed to the men 
who are preparing to alleviate the distress and to en- 
lighten the ignorance of the multitudes, so often the vic- 
tims of their own passions and the tools of dangerous dem- 
agogues. Mr. Peabody leaves the Scotia at Queenstown, 
Ireland, where he will siay for some time to enjoy the 
salmon-fishing, in company with his old friend. Sir Curtis 
Lampson, an American, recently made a baronet for his 
services in connection with the Atlantic Telegraph. As 
showing the difference between the great landholders of 
Great Britain and the sturdy farmers of the United States, 
it deserves to be recorded that for the privilege of catching 
trout and salmon for six months, Mr Peabody pays the 
neat sum of twenty -five hundred dollars in gold to the 
nobleman who owns the stream in which he intends to 
angle. These preserves of game and fish are therefore 
not only a source of pleasure but of large profit to their 
titled proprietors. Mr. Peabody has offered me letters to 
his agents in London, which I will not fail to use, for the 
purpose of personally inspecting the commencement of 
the great work in that city which will associate his name 
with all that is noble and generous, as long as the genius 
of Shakspeare and Milton is remembered and cherished 
among the sons of men. 



Outward Bound, 25 

May 9, 1867. 

We are still bowling along at a safe and easy speed, the 
air keen and bracing, and the sea almost as level as the 
Potomac or the Delaware. The upper deck is crowded 
with passengers enjoying the glorious prospect,- and the 
tables of the long dining-rooms are occupied by those who 
are writing last words on shipboard to their friends at 
home. It seems to be understood that we shall reach 
Queenstown to-night. Some of those who contemplate 
leaving us at Queenstown are a little nervous at the ru- 
mored vigilance of the British officials in the Irish ports in 
regard to Americans. The Fenian excitement has pro- 
duced considerable indignation, if not consternation, in 
Government circles, and travellers by land and water are 
sometimes roughly overhauled as they enter the disaffected 
sections of the island. Queenstown happens to be situated 
in one of the most disturbed of these sections, and more 
than one American has had to submit to a rigid investiga- 
tion as he stepped from the deck of a Cunard or Inman 
steamer upon Irish soil. I do not know^that we have any 
Fenians on the Scotia, but a good deal of merriment has 
been excited by the mischievous report that one of our 
most esteemed companions (an eloquent and beloved Phila- 
delphian) is to be captured and examined immediately upon 
his advent in "the Cove of Cork," as Queenstown used 
to be called l::^ore its name was changed to honor Victoria 
when she visited Ireland in 1849. But as Captain Judkins 
and Mr. Peabody have generously proffered to enter bonds 
for Mr. Dougherty 's good behavior, you need not be alarmed 
for his welfare as he passes through the land of his ances- 
tors. 

Among the many interesting persons on the Scotia is a 
gentleman who spent several years in Norway as an agent 
of the Government during the war. I have been much edi- 
fied by his conversation, and at my request he has written 
an account of his experience, which is subjoined. The 



26 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

overthrow of the rebellion having rendered it unnecessary 
to continue such persons in the foreign service, he was re- 
called by Mr. Seward, and returned to his home in Maine ; 
but he was so impressed by his sojourn at Stockholm, that 
he is now returning, with his aged father, to visit the scenes 
in which he collected so much valuable information. The 
student of character can find many such young Americans 
as Mr. Thomas in his foreign travels — keen observers and 
practical thinkers. They are always comparing other na- 
tions with their own, and applying their information for 
the benefit of their Government, and, as in the case under, 
notice, do infinite good. The Secretary of State deserves 
credit for selecting such citizens as young Thomas to spread 
American statistics among foreign nations. No statesman- 
ship is so useful, and none so soon to be speedily and gen- 
erously rewarded. Among our company is General Bart- 
lett, the new American minister to Stockholm, on his way 
to enter upon his duties ; and I notice that he has been 
much interested by the intelligent and manly bearing of 
Mr. Thomas. 

Among other institutions we have a regular post-ofiice 
on board the Scotia, and the presiding divinity of that 
bureau is calling for the letters of all who wish to write 
home by the early mail. To-night we shall be in Queens- 
town ; to-morrow in Liverpool. 

The following is the letter alluded to : V 

Steamer "Scotia," May 8, 1867. 
My Dear Colonel : At your request 1 will throw together in a 
rambling way, the pith of our talk, the other eve, on Norway, beg- 
ging you to remember that the iron band of a sea-headache is still 
screwed tightly down around my forehead. 

NORWAY. 

Imagine a huge table-land, rising 3,000 to 6,000 feet sheer above 
the sea — one vast rock in fact, bleak and barren, covered with 
snow, swept with rain, frozen in winter, sodden in summer — the 



Outward Bound, 27 

home of a few reindeer and Lapps, and you have Norway proper — 
nine-tenths of the Norway that is shown on the map. 

But the rock is not whole ; it is cracked apart here and there, 
and the fissures show like slender veins over the country. The 
sides of these ravines are steep as the cleft left by an axe, and 
their depths are always filled with a foaming brook or river tum- 
bling along from the drenched table-land above the sea. I have 
looked up from the bottom of one of these valleys, and seen the 
perpendicular rock rise 5,000 feet on either side, and heaven show 
like a strip of blue ribbon. Wherever in these dales there lies 
a bit of earth 'twixt rock and river, there the Norwegian peas- 
ant has built his cot ; and it is on such bits of earth that inhabited 
Norway is situated, and here live its 1,200,000 people. The land 
just around his door gives the Norwegian potatoes, rye, barley, 
and oats : his cattle climb the steeps above for every stray blade ; 
for the rest he depends upon the sea and river. Were it not for 
the excellent fisheries along this northern shore, Norway would 
be uninhabitable. 

THE MIDNIGHT SUN. 

One night in July, 1865, Hon. J. H. Campbell, late Minister at 
Stockholm, two Messrs. Buckley, of Birmingham, and myself, 
landed on the shore of a northern fjord in lat. 69 deg. N. We 
ascended a clifi' which rose bold about 1,000 feet above the sea. 
It was late, but still sunlight. The Arctic Ocean stretched away 
in silent vastness at our feet; the sound of its waves scarcely 
reached our airy lookout ; away in the north the huge old sun 
swung low along the horizon, like the slow beat of the pendulum 
in the tall clock in our grandfather's parlor corner. We all stood 
silent looking at our watches. When both hands came together at 
12, midnight, the full round orb hung triumphantly above the 
wave — a bridge of gold running due north spanned the waters be- 
tween us and him. There he shone in silent majesty which knew no 
setting. We involuntarily took off our hats ; no word was said. 
Combine, if you can, the most brilliant sunset and sunrise you 
ever saw, and its beauties will pale before the gorgeous coloring 
which now lit up ocean, heaven, and mountain. In half an hour 
the sun had swung up perceptibly on its beat, the colors changed 
to those of morning, a fresh breeze rippled over the fjord, one 
songster after another piped up in the grove behind us — we had 
slid into another day. 



28 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

THE NORWEGIANS, 

I have said, rely much on their fisheries. In the extreme north, 
they depend on them altogether. Long before you reach Ham- 
merfest, a town of 2,000 inhabitants, even the fir, spruce, and pine 
cease — nothing stands the cold but a stunted birch, the size of a 
currant bush. ' The dwellers here are too poor to import food — 
they must live on the fish they catch. They are too poor to buy 
salt, and depend upon the sun to dry their fish for them. The 
summer may be foggy — then the fish rot instead of dry — and 
the unfortunate Northmen must live all winter on " rotten ftsh." 
This is no exaggeration, and the result is there are 900 lepers, 
whose flesh is rotting, whose limbs are dropping off, one after the 
other, in the hospital at Bergen. This leprosy exists in no other 
country in Europe, and is directly caused by this putrid diet. 
Even in the south the life of the Norwegian is, from birth to 
death, a hand-to-hand fight with Nature. The boughs of the birch 
are regularly cut and dried as winter fodder for sheep, and in 
hard seasons straw and the inner bark of trees must be ground up 
to help out the oatmeal which makes the Norseman's bread. 

IMMIGRATION. 

A stout, tall, hardy race are the Norwegians. No people in 
the world are more honest, industrious, and frugal. America 
needs men. She can procure no better than these descendants of 
the Yikings. We have some already. How can we get more ? 
During a three-yisars official residence in Sweden and Norway, I 
scattered broadcast " information which would tend towards immi- 
gration," as it is styled in the "red tape'' vocabulary, and I know 
that all Scandinavia is now well aware of the laborer's superior 
condition in America, of the homestead bill, &c., &c. Tens of 
thousands (I state the number after reflection, and am far within 
bounds) of the young giants of this country are ready and anxious 
to spread over our prairies, fill our Western mountain slopes, and 
help to pay our taxes. What hinders them ? Simply this : In their 
fight with nature at home, they can never get so far ahead as to be 
able to pay their pa,ssage to America. If Government or any 
company could offer them a /ree passage to the United States, I 
would guarantee to fill every ship sent, till all Scandinavia was 
depopulated. 

Plans for free immigration are not so Utopian as might seem. 



Outward Bound, 29 

I have given tlie subject years of attention, and there are two 
plans I think well of : 

First. Let the passage-money be advanced, and let the immi- 
grant pay for his passage by his labor, after he arrives in Amer- 
ica. For carrying out this project, a moneyed company must be 
formed. Skilled agents must be sent to Norway, and each immi- 
grant should sign and swear to a written contract, before a priest 
or notary public of his country, to serve for some stated time in 
America. The Norwegian is so truthful, and his veneration for a 
written contract or an oath so great, that I think there would be 
very little danger of his breaking any such agreement. 

The second plan is as follows : The Swedish city G-othenburg 
lies half a day's sail to the south of Norway. Gothenburg exports 
about 15,000 tons of iron a year to New York and Boston. This 
iron pays from ^7 to $10 per ton freight, and any vessel can c rry 
more than her registered tonnage, so that any one can readily 
figure up the receipts of the voyage. 

Now, it is evident that a cargo of iron, though of great weight, 
requires very little space, and that a cargo of immigrants, though 
requiring much space, is of very little comparative weight. Now, 
my plan is simply to combine these two cargoes. Facts have 
proved that a vessel can take a full cargo of iron and of emi- 
grants at the same time, and also that the iron, besides serving to 
ballast the emigrant ship, will very nearly, if not quite, pay the 
expenses of the voyage. 

This plan was fully developed by me in despatches to Mr Seward, 
in 1863 and 1864. Mr. Seward, who, to his honor be it said, has 
ever been the constant and zealous friend of Scandinavian immi- 
gration, sent my despatches to the Chamber of Commerce of New 
York, and they are printed in the annual report of that chamber 
for 1864. 

By my plan it will be seen that thousands of Northmen can be 
given a free passage to America every year. Our country will be 
the richer for their labor, and no one will be the loser thereby. 

Now, it is of very little consequence whether my plan for immi- 
gration, or any other particular plan, is adopted. But I hold that 
it is of consequence to every American that, in some way or other, 
these stalwart, honest sons of the North should be removed from 
their prison of rock and ice, and help to develop our own great 
country. 



30 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

My dear Colonel, will not some of your moneyed friends and 
readers put this great project into practical working form? 
With great respect, your humble servant, 

WILLIAM W. THOMAS, Jr., 

Late U. S. Consul at Gothenburg, Sweden. 



IL— FIRST DAY AT LIVERPOOL. 



LUTIONS PRESENTED TO HIM — RUNNING UP THE IRISH SEA 
— ENTERING THE MERSEY — SOLIDITY THE CHARACTER OF 
LIVERPOOL — ST. JOHN'S MARKET ON SATURDAY NIGHT. 

LiYEKPOOL, England, May 13, 1867. 
Mr. Peabody and over sixty of the passengers of the 
Scotia took leave of us about midnight of Friday, in an 
open tug, and in the midst of a smart shower, which, before 
they reached the shore, increased to a heavy storm of rain. 
As I looked down from the upper deck upon our depart- 
ing friends, I could not help contrasting the miserable ac- 
commodations of the Cunard Company, on the sailing and 
arrival of their steamers, with the splendid ferry-boats that 
ply between Philadelphia and Camden, and New York and 
Jersey City. And what was true of Queenstown we real- 
ized at Liverpool, when we got here on the Saturday fol- 
lowing Had the weather been as bad here as it was there, 
we should have reached our hotel drenched to the skin. 
On the day he bade us farewell, a characteristic incident 
took place between Mr. Peabody and the committee ap- 
pointed by the Americans on board, when they tendered him 
their resolutions of grateful respect for his many friendly 
acts of benevolence. One of the resolutions referred to 
the fact that whereas Smithson and Girard had bequeathed 



First Day at Liverpool, 31 

their benefactions to tbe care of posterity, Mr. Peabody 
had enhanced the value of his example by courageously 
becoming his own executor, and by giving his personal 
care to the execution of his splendid trust. When this 
resolution was read to him, he asked that it might be read 
a second time; after which, with a winning courtesy I 
shall not soon forget, he said that he would be greatly 
obliged if the whole passage could be stricken out of the 
proceedings. *' Whatever may be said of me," he added, 
'*and however just your abstract view may be, yet even 
the shadow of a contrast that might be construed into a 
criticism upon these two illustrious men should be carefully 
avoided. They did their best, and they did nobly ; and if 
the}^ had thought of it, would probably have taken exactly 
my course." The suggestion was instantly complied with. 
A lovelier day than that which introduced the most of 
us to our first personal experience of the Old World, never 
relieved the anxiety and dispelled the ennui of a voyage _ 
by sea. The British Channel, with the Irish coast in the 
distance, rapidly succeeded by that of Wales, and finally by 
that of England, presented a panorama of singular and 
surpassing beauty. The desolation of the ocean, over 
which we had steamed for many hours and days, without a 
sign of outside humanity, was followed, first gradually and 
then swiftly, by the appearance of water-craft of all de- 
scriptions, from the Cunard and Inman steamers, outward- 
bormd to the land we have left behind us, to the huge 
Chinaman, or Australian, or cotton ship, towed into Liv- 
erpool by the small steamers belonging to the port, and at 
last to the welcome pilot-boat and the numberless skiffs 
and river- shallops common to every large commercial 
town, and especially so to this, the most important in the 
world. Crowded on the upper deck were the passengers, 
eagerly enjoying the scene. As point after point came 
into view, and were described to the strangers by those * 
who had seen them before, the excitement increased. TheJ 



32 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

lovely watering-places of the Lancashire coast, the light- 
houses on their solitary rocks, and, at last, Birkenhead, 
opposite Liverpool itself, were disclosed like the separate 
pictures of a great diorama, and were received "with 
rounds of applause." But nothing was so refreshing as 
the green and carefully-cultivated fields. Down to the 
water's edge was spread the emerald carpet of a luxuriant 
May. With our glasses we could see the little villages, 
the steamers plying between the various inlets, even the 
bridges thrown across some of the streams, and the hedges 
which divided the elevated plantations, looking like dark 
ribbons sewed upon the living and almost sparkling under- 
growth of green. As we steamed closer in, that which 
looked so attractive at a distance grew even more beauti- 
ful on a nearer inspection. The villas of the gentry at 
New Brighton, one of the suburbs of Liverpool, gave me 
the first realization of the residences of the English million- 
naires. Every thing bore the mark of opulence, taste, and 
skill. 

Liverpool itself (which is called a town, because only the 
present or past seat of a Bishopric is 2,-city in England) was 
a great and a gratifying surprise to me, and I have studied 
it with much interest. Solidity is written everywhere; 
every thing seems built to last, from the immense docks 
themselves down to tte burly frames of the men and the 
large feet of the women. Landing at the quay, after a 
tedious delay in the Mersey, while the custom-house 
oflacers were examining the baggage, I was very much edi- 
fied at the curious sights and manners around me. The first 
was the absence of greenbacks and small paper currency, 
and the substitution, in counting money, of pounds, crowns, 
shillings, and pence, for dollars, l^lf-dollars, quarters, ten, 
and five-cent pieces. Some very amusing mistakes were 
the result. It is a habit you so soon fall into, that I am 
more than ever anxious for the return of specie payments 
in the United States. 



First Day at Liverpool, 33 

Reaching the Washington, in Liverpool, a pleasant but 
somewhat expensive hotel, I was startled to find the book- 
keeper and registrar a woman ; and I noticed that women 
performed many of the offices that are monopolized by men 
in our country. In most the hotels they act as clerks. On 
the subject of cabs and "hansoms " I shall have something 
to say hereafter ; but I cannot now forbear a note upon 
the extraordinary difference between this mode of trans- 
portation and that in the United States. You can ride 
miles for a shilling, (about twenty-five cents ;) and on* 
Sunday three of us, Mr. Caldwell, of Philadelphia, Mr. 
Prescott Smith, of Maryland, and myself, rode about the 
town and environs for three hours and a half for about two 
dollars of our currency. In Philadelphia that excursion 
would have cost at least five, and, jDrobably ten dollars. 
But the most curious of all the sights was St. John's 
market in Liverpool, on Saturday night ; it was on Saturday ^ 
you will remember, that we landed. There is no better way 
to understand a people and a country, than to attend places 
in which they buy and sell the necessaries of life — generally 
the product of their own labor and soil. Although the 
surging mass in which I was tossed about spoke my own 
language, it was very difficult to realize it in the jargon 
that filled my ears, a patois in which the broad English and 
the broader Scotch, and the rapid Irish, were strangely 
commingled. The stalls literally overflowe4 with vegeta- 
bles and meats of every description, and it was not difficult 
to understand English fruitfulness from these substantial 
proofs. Strange fish, called after strange names, were 
mingled with the finest salmon I ever saw, and the mutton 
and beef only needed the experiment upon them at my 
hotel to establish that they were worthy of their fame. 
About midnight the market closed, the great throng 
retiring in order, but amid shouts of laughter, before the 
command of the uniformed and ubiquitous police. Once 
more in the streets, I found a new feature of foreign life. 



34 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

Bands of music were playing to delighted crowds ; itinerant 
orators were talking incomprehensible politics to absorbed 
listeners ; soldiers were countermarching ; and gin-shops in 
a blaze of light! These were novel scenes to me, and 
when I retired for the rest I needed so much, you need not 
wonder if my sleep was visited by many conflicting and 
illogical visions. 



Ill— IN LIVERPOOL. 

THE DOCKS — SOLID ARCHITECTURE — STONE BUILDINGS 

CLEANLINESS OF STREETS AND ROADS — FORMER ANTI-UNION 
PREJUDICE IN ENGLAND — DEFEAT OF THE REBELLION RE- 
ACTS ON THE ENGLISH PEOPLE. 

Liverpool, May 14, 1867. 

I am not sorry that I acted upon the advice of a friend, 
and, instead of hurrying on to the splendors of London, re- 
mained to study the substantials of Liverpool As the 
largest sea^Dort in the world, a visit to its noble docks 
would alone repay a longer detention. These massive im- 
provements were necessitated by the extraordinary rise 
and fall of the tides. At Philadelphia the difference be- 
tween high and low water is about five feet ; but at Liver- 
pool and London, the water, which sometimes comes within 
two feet of the wharves, regularly falls every twenty-four 
hours at least twenty-six feet, thus rendering it impossible 
to unload those mighty vessels, or, indeed, any vessels 
which may ride in at high tide. To attract and accommo- 
date the commerce of the world these splendid works were 
conceived. They are built in water, and the walls, taking 
up a large part of the front of the Mersey, upon which 
Liverpool stands, enclose the river at high tide. When 



In LiverpooL 35 

their gates are shut down they hold the vessels that have 
got inside at high-water mark, even when the tide has 
fallen to its lowest ebb. Upon the ground thus recovered 
from the water for the walls of these tremendous docks, 
stand rows and rows of immense warehouses. As we 
steamed along the Mersey, Liverpool looked a good deal 
like Philadelphia, on the Delaware ; but the shipping in the 
docks seemed to lie anchored almost in the heart of the 
city, just as if you could see a mighty forest of masts from 
the Camden side of the Delaware, extending from the K'avy 
Yard on the south to Richmond, on the north. There 
are ten miles of these docks — seven miles on the Liver 
pool and three on the Birkenhead side of the Mersey 
They cost more than one hundred millions of dollars. 
They are built as' if they were intended to endure as long 
as the Pyramids Prom this statement you can form some 
idea of the magnitude of the commerce of this great port. 
It must not be forgotten that while such accommoda- 
tions are wholly needless at our American ports, London 
and Liverpool would be nowhere as commercial capitals 
without them. As I have said, every thing is solid about 
Liverpool. The great docks, warehouses, counting-houses, 
public buildings, and even the private houses, have a sort 
of monumental air. Even the streets, clean and strong, as 
if they had been laid by the same masons that built these 
stately piles, are composed of the same material — a native 
stone found in many parts of England. S(^t and white 
when it is dug from the earth, it grows hard and dark 
when it is exposed to the mists of the sea, which hang like 
clouds over the British isles through the best part of the 
year, making the atmosphere humid and frequently shut- 
ting out the sun from the gaze of men. Among the many 
things that attract the traveller is the almost universal use 
to which this stone is applied, especially in modern im- 
provements. You find it in almost every town and village, 
superseding the old buildings and composing the new. As 



36 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

the English clay does not seem to make good brick, the 
value of this material cannot be calculated. The magnifi- 
cent railway stations are chiefly built of it, and most of the 
new castles and mansions of the nobility, together with 
the new public edifices. Although it has a somewhat 
sombre air, yet, susceptible as it is of being easily cut, 
shaped, and carved, it is at once ornate and useful. The 
cleanliness of Liverpool is very remarkable, though, as I 
have heard, it is surpassed in this, as in all respects, by 
London. The heavy blocks with which the streets are 
built render it impossible for dirt to accumulate, and it is 
said that, however foul the day, the public thoroughfares 
are always decent. I thought Philadelphia a model of 
cleanliness till I saw the highways of England in town and 
countr}^, and I could only hope for the time when all sec- 
tions of our country may be equally fortunate. The roads 
seem to be swept of every obstacle and impurity, and when 
you leave the city the same care is apparent, even in a 
greater degree. Fancy an empire threaded, crossed, and 
connected by roads and lanes as smooth and beautiful as 
the race-course at Point Breeze ! Yet this is a simple truth. 
Liverpool was the centre of the organization of the 
blockade-runners d uring the rebellion. I saw the ship-yards 
@f the Lairds, at Birkenhead, opposite the city, where some 
of these corsairs were built ; and I have seen much to 
indicate that the feeling against our country was intense 
among the commercial and manufacturing princes. Their 
sjT-mpathy with Slavery was a matter of business as well as 
of sentiment, and they gave enormously to the cause of our 
enemies. As I looked upon their lordly mansions and en- 
during warehouses, I could not forget the philippic of George 
Frederick Cooke, the eccentric British actor, nearly fiLfty 
years ago, *' that the stones of their boasted edifice of trade 
were cemented by the blood of American slaves." But 
this is past, and it should be our study to forget it. A 
happy and healthy change has taken place, and all over 



In Liverpool, . 27 

England the classes wlio were eager to plan and pray for 
our downfall are anxious to cultivate our friendship. Yet, 
as we recognize a fact so valuable, we must not forget that 
in these dark hours the Union cause was fortunate in the 
support of many pious men and women in Liverpool and 
the adjacent country. They never yielded to selfish motives 
or to revenge. Mr. Dudley, the American consul here, 
whose steadfast courage and patient confidence were of 
so much service in this fierce trial, gladly acknowledges 
the help he received from these good people. The revo- 
lution produced by the defeat of the American rebellion, 
gratifying as it is to the statesmen who never doubted the 
result, will not end with the removal of the unjust pre- 
judices of our foes. It will march onward to a glorious 
reform. Every hour strengthens this conviction. There 
is undisguised exultation among the Tories at what they 
call the defeat of the Liberals in the House of Commons 
on the 9th of May, on the question of suffrage, though 
nobody doubts that a very large gain was secured, even in 
the unsatisfactory bill which is shortly ex^Dected to pass. 
But it is easy to see that the success of the Union arms 
in America, and the triumph of colored suflrage in the 
South, are working magically upon the English people. 
No weapon, at once so peaceful and so resistless, has ever 
been placed in the hands of conscientious statesmen, as 
this providential example ; and if Gladstone and Bright 
use it with reasonable skill, the centennial anniversary 
of the American Declaration of Independence, the Fourth 
of July, eighteen hundred and seventy-six, will see almost 
universal suffrage in all the British dominions. 



38 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 



IV.— EAILWAYISM AND FACTOEIES. 

THE BRITISH RAILROAD SYSTEM — FINE ROADS AND GOOD 
MANAGEMENT — THE "LEFT BAGGAGE" ROOM— NO BAGGAGE 
CHECKS — PARK-LIKE COUNTRY — ASCENDANCY OF THE 
OLIGARCHY — SIR F. CROSSLEY'S MAMMOTH FACTORY AT 

HALIFAX — WORKING OF THE CO-OPERATIVE SYSTEM 

PERFECTION OP MACHINERY — A DAY WELL SPENT. 

Halifax, May 14, 1867, 

The first experience of an American on a British railroad 
is an event, and mine was not exceptional. Let me specify 
the advantages of the English system over ours. You 
cannot buy a ticket on the cars. The office is opened 
exactl}^ fifteen minutes before the hour of starting, when 
you appear and are ''booked" for your destination. All 
these offices are called " booking " offices, and have con- 
tinued from the old days of post-roads and post-coaches. 
You take your seat in a section running crosswise instead 
of lengthwise, as with us, and holding four on each side. 
You enter your section from the side, as on the Camden 
and Amboy lines. Just before starting, the guard, in 
uniform (answering to the American conductor), examines 
your ticket, shuts the door, and locks you in. Very cosy, 
indeed, are these exclusive little snuggeries, esiDCcially if, 
as in our case, you and your companions are the sole 
occupants. You will see at a glance the immense advan- 
,tage to travellers and stockholders of a system that insures 
honesty in the subordinates by forcing the passengers to 
buy at the stations, and that prevents the overcrowding, 
and too often the rudeness, so common on American roads. 
At every station, when the train stops, the doors are 
opened, and you may pass out if you please, and on the 



Railway ism and Factories, 39 

long lines you are allowed time enough to take refresh- 
ments, which, thus far, are really superior, and by no means 
as bad as depicted by Mr. Dickens in his late novel. 
Better tea, sweeter bread and butter, and finer mutton I 
have never enjoyed. The same strength and durability 
that impressed me so at Liverpool characterize these roads 
and rolling stock, and you glide on with so little motion 
that, at least on one of the lines (the Northwestern), I 
could easily have written an ** occasional " letter, if I had 
not been better engaged. The pleasure of reading and of 
reflection, so often impossible with us either from the jolting 
of. the cars or the volubility of some inquisitive friends, is 
a chief delight with the intelligent traveller in Europe. 
But better than every thing else (and here we may copy 
without loss of dignity) is the admirable order that guides 
and governs every thing in connection with the British 
railroads. Politeness on the part of the oflScials to the 
travellers is universal. There is no noise, no comfusion, 
and no wrangling ; and when I state that I have not heard 
an oath from a railroad agent or a cab-driver since I have 
been here, I say what I regret I cannot say of all the rail- 
road subordinates in my own country. The safety and the 
comfort of the travellers seem to be the first consideration. 
Remembering how often I have seen a poor fellow snubbed 
and mortified by a rude conductor or clerk, on a car or at 
a hotel, when he ventured to ask a harmless question, I 
wished at least one British institution transplanted to the 
United States. It is almost impossible to lose any thing, 
and the English are the most forgetful of people, and are 
for ever leaving something on their seats or in their hotel 
rooms. A missing article is at once deposited in what 
they call "the left baggage-room," which is found in all 
their spacious station-houses. Here you can intrust any 
parcel with perfect confidence if you have any business at 
any of the towns on these great lines, and do not care to 
incur the expense of their costly hotels, receiving it, on call, 



4© Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

by payment of three pence, equivalent to six American 
cents. When I tell you that jt is estimated that fifty thou- 
sand commercial travellers, composed of men of all nations, 
and representing the great trading-houses of the world, 
are continually " on the rail " in Great Britain, the useful- 
ness of such a convenience may be appreciated, and 
especially in the Uuited States, where the whole people can 
afford to enjoy this pleasant way of locomotion. And as you 
contrast the miserably low wages paid for all these services 
by the companies themselves, with the salaries received by 
the men engaged on our great lines of travel, even allow- 
ing for the difference between the cost of living in both 
countries, I am not without hope that the day of our own 
improvement in these important essentials may not be 
long delayed. 

Is there nothing to censure in the management of these 
roads ? you will ask. My answer is that of every American. 
They should imitate our admirable system of checking 
baggage. They refuse to become responsible after that 
system, and the result is vexatious delay at your destina- 
tion, unless you take the precaution of sending your trunk 
by express direct to your hotel. Some very grave objec- 
tions are urged against locking the doors of the cars, and 
the impossibility of appealing to the guard during the 
progress of the train. Respectable females generally 
refuse to travel alone in the English cars, and Muller's 
horrible murder of an inoffensive passenger a few years ago, 
on one of the long lines, shows that it is easy to commit 
the worst crimes under the present arrangement. 

Our ride from Liverpool to this remarkable Euglish town 
was over seventy miles long, and every part of the country 
on either side was cultivated like a garden. My visit to 
the exquisite little Princess Park, near Liverpool, convinced 
me of the rare perfection attained in the arrangement of 
public and private grounds by the landscape architects of 
Great Britain, and prepared me for some fine displays. 



. Railway ism and Factories, 41 

Sir Joseph Paxton has covered these isles with the tro- 
phies of his genius, and there is hardly a large estate that 
does not contain some evidence of his skill and taste. But 
I was not ready to see a whole country-side converted into 
a panorama as lovely as Franklin or Kittenhouse Squares, 
or as attractive as the Capitol grounds at Washington, 
when all these are dressed in the robes of May and June. 
Yet precisely such an experience was mine this morning, 
as I looked in delighted surprise from the window of the 
car, borne along at the rate of thirty miles an hour. As 
far as the eye could see it was the same alternation of green 
fields, divided by dark hedges, white roads, as smooth and 
as clean as the walks at Laurel Hill, and an endless variety 
of flowers, from which the sweetest odors poured iuto our 
windows. The work of cultivation was carried to the verge 
of the railway, and the sides of the excavations were 
clothed with the same thick, yet closely-shaven verdure, 
down not only to the iron track, but frequently th^ bed or 
sides of the track were planted with early summer roses. 
Not a living object interrupted or threatened our progress. 
The severe taste that presided over all things else, and 
seemed to keep nature itself in the garb of a perpetual 
holiday, had made accidents almost impossible. I noticed 
that the main line crossed few of the country roads on the 
same level. They were either bridged to allow it to pass 
beneath, or avoided altogether, save in a very few cases, 
where gates were established, guarded by men in the in- 
evitable uniform. And what I have already witnessed is 
but one picture of a thousand like it in this opulent country. 
The only sad part of the experience was that all this 
wealth of nature, made yet richer and grander by the art 
of man, was for the few, and not for the many ; for a class, 
and not, as in my own great country, for all. The absence 
of human beings from these fertile and shining acres proved 
the iDresence of the government of the aristocracy. The 
products of these fields, the perfume of these flowers, the 



42 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

fruits of these trees, were reserved to swell the revenues or 
to gratify the appetites of a small number of able and for- 
tunate men — men trained in the craft of ruling others, and 
powerful only in the inheritance of ancestral wealth and 
pride. Thousands of these splendid acres are owned by one 
man, and are held for his own use or for his own emolu- 
ment, and farmed out, at long intervals and high rents, to 
those who are expected to serve their landlord as faithfully 
as if he owned them too. The people of England are not 
seen in the country, but in the towns, and there, in too 
many cases, while still ministering to the wealth of the 
few, they are compelled to live in hives, to huddle in small 
houses, built into clusters and packed into spaces so close 
that you would not dream, if you did not know better, that 
land was so plenty outside of these human swarms as to 
be held by millions of roods by single individuals, whose 
chief care seems to be how to get rid of their money with- 
out helping others. 

I am writing this lettei from the manufacturing town of 
Halifax, in Yorkshire, where, in company with our much- 
esteemed fellow-citizen, James F. Orne, Esq , I have gath- 
ered much valuable information, and enjoyed a peculiar 
gratification in visiting the celebrated carpet manufactories. 
One of my first objects was to see a mammoth establish- 
ment, owned chiefly by a Liberal member of Parliament 
and his family, famed throughout the world, and con- 
ducted on the co-operative principle, under which the 
'* work-people," as they call them, can purchase a direct 
interest in a most profitable concern out of the proceeds of 
their own labor. In this era of '' strikes," it was very 
significant to watch the progress of a movement, which, if 
generally acted upon in this country, will remove many of 
the just causes of complaint by the toiling classes. In con- 
versation with Sir Francis Crossley himself, one of the 
owners, and member of Parliament for Halifax, I found 
that he was highly pleased with the result of this benevo- 



Railwayism and Factories, 43 

lent experiment. More than a thousand of his workmen 
have taken advantage of his offer and become interested in 
the business. Considering the enormous profits of most of 
the British manufacturers, it is unfortunate that there are 
so few Sir Francis Crossleys ; but I do not doubt, if per- 
fect success attend his trial, many will be glad to do lilie- 
wise. The chasm between labor and capital on these isles 
is so deep and bitter, that he is the truest philanthropist 
who labors to close the break, and to bring the classes now 
growing more and more hostile into kind relations. 

We can form little idea in the United States of the ex- 
tent of some of these manufactories. That of Sir Francis 
Crossley, at this place, would alone repay a trip across the 
Atlantic, especially to one who desired to see the English 
masses in their best condition. These great works com- 
prise a large number of patent looms for the weaving of 
tapestry, velvet, and Brussels carpets ; also, table-covers 
and hearth-rugs — hand-looms for weaving Scotch carpets, 
and machinery for preparing and spinning worsted, 
woolen, linen, and cotton, which are carded, combed, spun, 
dyed, and printed on the premises. It is the largest man- 
ufactory of the kind in the world; comj)rising eighteen and 
a half acres of flooring, using two thousand horse-power^^'in 
its steam-machinery, and giving employment to over four 
thousand men, women, and children. I saw this mass of 
buman beings dismissed for and returning from their noon- 
day meal — a sight I shall never forget. They seemed un- 
usually contented and healthy. Afterwards, in company 
with Mr. Orne and the son of the baronet, I had an oppor- 
tunity of seeing them at their labors. Taking the cotton 
and wool, almost as they came from the growers' hands, 
from the early cleaning to the first dyeing, we followed 
them through their various processes until we stood in the 
department where the finished fabrics are stored which 
have attained universal celebrity, and are used in all parts 
of the civilized world. The various inventions which have 



44 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

brought tMs class of manufactures so near perfection, from 
that now two centuries old to the great discovery of one of 
our own countrymen, here exhibit their amazing capaci- 
ties. To see mere machines performing the work of hu- 
man beings, sorting delicate threads, producing the most 
beautiful colors, and combining these threads and colors 
into pictures and figures rivalling the genius of the individ- 
ual artist, was an experience that awakened many reflec- 
tions. « It was another proof of the immortality of the 
soul, for, if the Creator had destined man to perish with 
the beasts, he would never have endowed him with these 
God-like faculties. The buildings in which these immense 
operations are carried on are proportionately gigantic. 
As I have stated, they cover acres, and the manner of their 
construction is alike substantial and ornate. Some of 
these buildings are nine stories high; and as you stand on 
one of these " floors," and cast your eye along the forest of 
looms, and watch the persons engaged on them, you seem 
to be in the busy street of some curious old city. 

The town of Halifax is as unlike any American town as 
possible. It is a miniature metropolis, built of the 'inevi- 
table stone of the country, with long rows of elegant 
stores, comfortable dwellings for the poor, a lordly town- 
hall, a fine hotel, churches, and other public buildings. 
Everywhere you mark the evidences of the wise generosity 
of the Crossleys. The park, almost as neat and beautiful 
as that at Liverpool, was a gift of Sir Francis to the peo- 
ple. The funds of his family contributed chiefly to the 
beautiful town -hall, and their liberality has founded what 
IS styled an " Orphanage " for the education of the father- 
less children of the better and more emulous of their work- 
men. The whole air of the place, with its clean stone-laid 
streets and the broad and level roads m the environs, its 
well-dressed population, and the lovely valley in which it 
was located, was strange and pleasing to me. Although 
pubseq.uent examination has pamfuUy convinced me that 



In the House of Commons, 45 

the laboring classes of England are not, in many instances, 
so generously befriended as they are at Halifax, and that 
they fall horribly short in the great essentials of education 
(a sad proof of the inequality of the oligarchical system 
which wields the government equally in contempt of the 
Crown and the people), I shall always look back to my 
visit of the 14th of May with sincere satisfaction, 



v.— IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. 

THE speaker's GALLERY — HOUSES OP PARLIAMENT AND 
THEIR HISTORICAL VICINITY — WESTMINSTER ABBEY AND 
HALL — THE COMMONS' CHAMBER — ITS INCONVENIENCE — 
THE SPEAKER'S PERUKE — MINISTERIAL AND OPPOSITiaN 
BENCHES — DISRAELI AND GLADSTONE — CONVERSATIONAL 
TONE OP PARLIAMENTARY ORATORY — DEBATE ON THE 
REFORM BILL — POPULAR VICTORY. 

London, May 18, 1867. 

Without halting to express the feelings excited by this 
great metropolis, and without attemping to describe the 
numerous objects of interest that greet the stranger on 
every hand, I think the scene last night in the House of 
Commons deserves a special letter, even if it must be a 
hasty one, in order to catch the Scotia at Queenstown, 
where, leaving Liverpool to-day, she will touch to-morrow, 
on her return trip to America. I was fortunate enough to 
secure a seat in what is called the Speaker's gallery, and, 
as I got there early, I had an opportunity to look around 
me before the opening of the great debate. The Houses of 
Parliament are inexpressibly imposing and grand, though 
located on a site which has few natural advantages ; but ' 
the spot is so rich in precious historical reminiscences that 



46 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

the British statesmen could have probably deliberated no- 
where else with any desire to keep before them the warn- 
ings of their own history, . Westminster Abbey (which I 
have yet to see and to study) is immediately opposite, 
filled with the memories, of the mighty men of England. 
The scene of the execution of Charles the First is in the 
same direct vicinity, and the approach to the House of 
Commons is through the magnificent "Westminster Hall, in 
which Strafi'ord and other great English worthies were 
tried, and where Warren Hastings was prosecuted and 
defended with such matchless eloquence. 

It is a sad disappointment, after you have stood almost 
awe-struck before these splendid monuments of history^ to 
enter into the meagre room set apart for the House of 
Commons. It is not much larger than the main hall of a 
medium church in America, say about the size of that of 
Dr. Barnes, corner of Locust street and Seventh, or that of 
Dr. Sunderland, in Washington. In this narrow space 
over six hundred members cannot be assembled without 
the greatest inconvenience ; and last night, though not so 
many as four hundred were believed to be present, the pres- 
sure was uncomfortable. The seats on which they sit rise 
on both sides from the floor, after the manner of our old- 
fashioned meeting-houses, with the Speaker's chair under 
a wooden canopy at one end, and the main entrance at the 
other. The Speaker, the Right Hon. John Evelyn Denison, 
wore a huge white wig, resembling that which is part of 
the full court-costume of an English Judge or a Queen's 
Counsel, which concealed his features, and his voice was 
so low that when he stated a question I wondered who 
heard him. Before him were two persons, also in barris- 
ter's wigs, who seemed to be taking notes, probably the 
assistant secretaries. Below them was a writing-table, 
about the size of the tables seen in the private office of a 
banker or merchant. On the right of the Speaker sat the 
Ministry, headed by Mr. Disraeli, and on the left the Op- 



In the House of Commons, 47 

position leaders, headed by Mr. Gladstone. Mr. Disraeli 
has a very distinguished face, but looked care-worn. He 
has the bearing and the figure of Senator Frelinghuysen, 
of New Jersey, and Mr. Gladstone is not unlike Mr. Sum- 
ner, of Massachusetts, though not so large a man. The 
members came in slowly till the benches were filled, in 
many cases crowded. They had no place to put their hats, 
so they generally kept them on, after having saluted the 
Speaker on entering In this curious way they do busi- 
ness. If they write, it must be on their hats, or by holding 
their note-books before them ; if they speak, it must be in 
the midst of the feet of their neighbors. The seats of the 
two divisions are so near to each other that a whisper can 
almost be heard by those opposite. A strip of carpet, not 
more than six yards wide, separates the antagonists. As 
care has been taken to keep out the people by limiting the 
accommodations in the gallery to one hundred and fifty, 
there is no necessity for loud talking in the Chamber it- 
self, and, of course, little chance for oratory, and much less 
for declamation. Hence the habit of colloquial discussions 
— hence the " trick " of sneering at what is called elo- 
quence. Mr. Disraeli's manner and voice were very much 
like the voice and manner of a gentleman standing before 
his oflEice-fire, with his hands behind his back, talking busi 
ness to a client or gossip with a friend, and Mr. Gladstone 
was equally unconstrained. Both these men talked like 
scholars and thinkers, and it was not difficult to note that 
their model, if they had any, was that of all their associ- 
ates. 

But I did not sit down to draw pen-portraits, but simply 
to call attention to the fact that the debate, which lasted 
from t J P. M. till 1 A. M., presaged a signal Liberal triumph, 
or else a signal Tory defeat. I will not confuse you by 
entering into details. Suffice it to say that, if the indi- 
cations of last evening are not wholly fallacious, and the 
expectations and predictions of friends and foes whollyx 



48 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

disappointed, the right to vote, heretofore confined to a 
comparative few, will be extended to many thousands. The 
elective franchise is now enjoyed by about one in seven in 
this country ; should the proposition that promises to pre- 
vail, from last night's signs, become the law, that franchise 
will be enjoyed by one out of three or four. This is an 
immense advance, and the bare statement of it proves 
more than a volume of argument. The morning papers all 
regard it as a settlement of what threatened to become a 
dangerous agitation. The plan of agreement came from a 
Liberal, and was accepted by the Liberal leader, Gladstone, 
and then by the Tory leader, Disraeli. The excitement 
was very considerable, but the joy of the Liberals was 
unbounded. The Tory members see that their leader, 
Disraeli, has not forgotten his early democratic opinions, 
and many of them do not hesitate to say he has betrayed 
them. He has only saved them. Had he "not yielded, 
public clamor would have demanded and obtained still 
greater concessions. He simply anticipated fate, and 
strengthened the Government by obeying the people. The 
victory is very great, and will produce some extraordinary 
results. Mr Bright was not in the House last night, 
having left yesterday on a visit to his family at Rochdale, 
but the measure is known to receive his approval. 



Reform and Revolution, 4^ 



VI.— EEFOEM AND EEVOLUTIOK 

LIBERAL TRIUMPHS IN PARLIAMENT — EXTENSION OP THE 
SUPFRAGE-^OVERTHROW OP THE CLOSE BOROUGH SYSTEM — 

INFLUENCE OP AMERICAN EXAMPLE DISRAELI LEADS THE 

NEW REVOLUTION — HIS RETURN TO LIBERAL PRINCIPLES. 

London, May 21, 1867. 

The American in Europe soon discovers the change in 
the sentiments of the people, individual and collective, 
official and unofficial, in regard to his own country. He 
is saved the trouble of tracing the cause of this change by 
the frank admissions of the leaders and organs of general 
opinion. As a member of Parliament, evidently of the 
Tory persuasion, though he did not say so, declared to me 
a few daj^s ago in a railway car, " Your great triumph over 
the rebellion, and your subsequent treatment of the 
authors of that 'mistake,' including what seems to be the 
inevitable success of the plan of reconstruction, prove you 
to be a wonderful race." Remembering how a loyal 
American was treated in this country during the war, and 
how boldly the rebel agents plotted in the chief European 
centres, with the full consent of most of the Great Powers, 
the marvellous difference between the hour of trial and the 
hour of triumph deserves to be permanently recorded. And 
I do so with no purpose of reviving what, however entitled 
to remembrance, need not be made the theme of profitless 
exultation. That the interests of the masses of England 
and America are necessarily identical, is a fact that has 
only been re-established and strengthened by the overthrow 
of the slaveholders' conspiracy and the extraordinary re- 
sulting moral revolution. The past two weeks have been 
full of signs confirming this statement. I called attention 



50 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

in my last letter to the tremendous concession of the 
present Tory or conservative administration, headed b}^ 
Mr. Disraeli, in regard to suffrage. Since that date the 
Government has so faithfully fulfilled its promises as to 
have extorted from the Liberal organs fervent commenda- 
tion, and from the Tory chiefs equally bitter maledictions. 
The Star^ Mr. Bright's organ, candidly confesses that noth- 
ing could have been more unexpect-ed and graceful ; while 
the Times, heretofore the mouth-piece of the ministry, di- 
rects attention to, and in the main endorses, the terrible 
philippic of Mr. Lowe, a Tory leader in the House of 
Commons, on Monday evening, against what that gentle- 
man denounces as a complete surrender of the ministry to 
the American part}^ in Parliament, Mr. Lowe's speech 
was an effort of much force, and was doubtless a true 
reflection of the aristocratic protest against the course of 
the ministry. It produced no impression upon Mr. Disraeli, 
and very little on the house, the Liberals going for the new 
plan in a body, and the great majority of the Government 
party following their captain. Now, although under the 
present system of districting the kingdom for members of 
Parliament it will be almost impossible to elect a Radical 
or Liberal majority, the increase in the number of voters 
must be so considerable that it will be impossible always 
to maintain a system so unjust and unnatural ; for how 
can enlightened statesmen excuse themselves by retaining 
a law which enables a district with ten thousand of a 
population to elect as many members as a district with a 
population of fifty thousand — especially after having 
assisted to frame and carry a statute going very nearly to 
universal suffrage ? This odious discrimination was estab- 
lished and is still kept up solely to preserve the balance 
of power in the hands of the aristocracy — to enable the 
mighty landowners, the nobility, to counteract and check 
the democratic tendencies of the denser populations in such 
centres of commerce and manufactures as London, Liver- 



Reform and Revolution, 51 

pool, Birmingham, and Manchester. Thus, one man, who 
holds a vast body of acres, and is a sort of territorial 
sovereign, not only sits himself in the House of Lords, 
but elects his son or kinsman to the House of Commons. 
" The gentry,'' so called, have therefore an abiding interest 
in opposing so large an addition to the list of voters as is 
pledged in the proposal accepted by Mr. Disraeli. Mr. 
Lowe truly and prophetically tells them, this addition 
once secured, the overthrow of the "rotten borough" 
oppression will inevitably follow. 

It is very gratifying to an American to watch the 
progress of the struggle. Both sides use our example to 
illustrate their positions. No other nation is summoned 
as a witness. Mr. Lowe points to America to prove that 
extended voting is simply extended vice and crime, a prop- 
osition that is met and refuted by writers and speakers 
who find themselves acting together for the first time in 
their lives. When the illustrious Cobden lived, he habitu- 
ally cited Boston as his ideal of the righteousness of a 
liberal franchise, and now his compatriot and friend, 
Bright, points with overwhelming force to the spectacle of 
four millions of slaves suddenly elevated into citizenship, 
and fully proving themselves worthy of the precious boon, 
the ballot. It is unnecessary to speculate upon the sequel. 
The future will take care of itself Whether the end sees 
the overthrow of monarchy or not, it will assuredly wit- 
ness the victory of the people. My own judgment is, that 
Mr. Disraeli is a better philosopher than Mr. Lowe, and 
that he is proving himself a firmer friend of the Crown by 
these wise and generous concessions to the people. The 
English are singularly loyal to their sovereign, and proud 
of their renown as a nation. They are governed more by 
their religious, political, and literary traditions than 
almost any other race, excepting always the Americans. 
It will be some generations before they decide upon the 
experiment of a reioublic, unless, indeed, they are hurried 



52 Colonel Fornefs Letters from Europe, 

into another revolution by the blindness and vices of their 
rulers. Such is, I believe, the opinion of all the Liberal 
leaders. But the English race have a very different feel- 
ing for the gentry or aristocracy, and this is intensified by 
th^ recollection that many of these were called into being 
for very doubtful services, not a few of them having no 
other claim than that they were the illegitimate offspring 
of the great hoases that came after the Kestoration. How- 
ever natural it may be for these men to struggle for the 
continued enjoyment of their territorial advantages, their 
stubborn and haughty opposition to the extension of suf- 
frage, and their tenacious hold upon the control of Par- 
liament by means of the " rotten borough " system, is cal- 
culated to awaken the bitterest animosities. 

That Mr. Disraeli should be the leader of this new revo- 
lution ought to surprise nobody in England ; and nothing 
has induced his party to follow him so imphcitly but the 
belief that the monarchy can only be perpetuated by trust- 
ing the p-eople, and that the landed aristocracy or the new- 
fangled oligarchy are gradually becoming the govern- 
ment and rapidly absorbing the Crown. As I watched 
"him last evening pressing on the great reform which is to 
deepen and broaden the basis of popular liberty in Great 
Britain, I did not see the Tory leader, but the author of 
" Coningsby," the memorable argument against the very 
evils which the present reform is sure at last to cure. It 
is more than twenty years since, as a Democratic editor, I 
read and reviewed that remarkable novel; and he who will 
turn to the Washington Union, when that paper was under 
the control of the veteran Thomas Ritchie, will there find 
one of its broad pages given up to extracts from " Co- 
ningsby," the most exhaustive and fascinating protest 
against the danger of allowing vast bodies of land to re- 
main in the hands of an arrogant and idle and too often 
ignorant class, while millions of human beings were 
allowed to live in want and vice all around them. I re- 



British Sympathy with Freedom. ^^ 

member tlie excitement created by this wonderful work in 
both countries. Time has more than fulfilled the prophe- 
cies of the gifted young radical. It is a little curious that 
my jirst personal knowledge of England's greatest living 
conservative statesman is to see him leading the Tory 
party over to his own original doctrines. Not less grati- 
fying is the reflection that the great lesson is taught to 
mankind in the light of the marvellous triumph of liberty 
over slavery in my own country, and that the views I ex- 
pressed of Mr. Disraeli while I was the editor of a pro- 
slavery Democratic paper, more than twenty years ago, 
are made good while I am co-operating with the only true 
democracy m the world — the Republican party of America. 



yil.— BEITISH SYMPATHY "WITH 
FEEEDOM. 

ENGLISH FRIENDS OF THE UNITED STATES — THE WORKING 
CLASSES SYMPATHISE WITH THE UNION — THOMAS BAYLEY 

POTTER, M. P. FOR ROCHDALE H. W. BEECHER, JOHN. 

BRIGHT, GOLDWIN SMITH, AND THE AIVfERICAN DIPLOMA- 
TISTS IN LONDON AND LIVERPOOL. 

London, May 22, 1867. 

The change of tone in regard to the United States 
among the English people is especially gratifying to Mr. 
Bright and his friends They had a trying time of it 
during the rebellion, and nothing but their supreme 
confidence in the right and their long discipline in con- 
tending with the aristocracy fortified them against the 
sneers and falsehoods of the enemies of their principles 
and ours. It is very interesting to mingle with and 



54 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

interchange views witli these sincere and earnest men. 
They proudly claim the name of republicans, and insist 
upon enrolling themselves in the mighty brotherhood that 
wields the destinies of our happy country. I have never 
experienced rarer pleasure than in listening to them. 
How well they understand our parties ! It was an 
agreeable surprise to find my humble name almost familiar 
to them. Upon one point I was rejoiced to be undeceived. 
The English working masses everywhere sj^'mpathized with 
us during the rebellion, and although thousands of them 
were brought to want and beggary by the closing of the 
great manufactories, owing to the scarcity of cotton, very 
few could be seduced into sympathy with the slaveholders 
of America. During part of an evenmg with Mr. Thomas 
Bayley Potter, the member from Rochdale, the district 
represented by the illustrious Cobden, whose successor he 
is, I heard many instances of the devotion of these toiling 
multitudes to our own dear country. One man walked 
fifteen miles, almost without shoes on his feet, to assist in 
a meeting of congratulation on Mr. Lincoln's Proclamation 
of Emancipation. It was among these men that all the 
great demonstrations in favor of the American cause 
originated, and at one of their meetings, over which Mr. 
Potter presided, they subscribed their pennies to circulate 
documents so liberally that thej^ could have been measured 
by the peck. 

Mr. Potter was President of the Union and Emancipa- 
tion Society of Manchester, and contributed immensely by 
his efforts of person and purse to the cause of America. 
Before this progressive association the ablest intellects 
appeared and addressed the people. Henry Ward Beecher 
spoke to them in the dark hours of the war. John Bright 
responded to our appeals in some of his manliest argu- 
ments, and when, at the close of the conflict, the society 
held its last meeting. Professor Goldwin Smith read a 
philosophical review of the causes and consequences of the 



British Sympathy with Freedom, ^^ 

rebellion, which has been preserved and printed in beautiful 
form. During the three years of its operations the society 
printed and circulated over four hundred thousand books, 
pamphlets, and tracts, and held nearly five hundred official 
and public meetings. Do you wonder, then, that the cause 
of America has made such rapid headway in England ? or 
that the bitter antagonism of the aristocracy should have 
given way to- sweet compliments ? or that the sagacious 
Mr. Disraeli should have anticipated the demand of the 
people by conceding more than the Liberals as a body 
would have dared to ask ten years ago ? Not a little of 
this happy condition of affairs has resulted from the deter- 
mined patriotism of Hon. Charles Francis Adams, Ameri- 
can Minister at London, and his Secretary of Legation, 
Benjamin Moran, aided by F H. Morse, the American Con- 
sul here, and Thomas H. Dudley, the American Consul at 
Liverpool. These gentlemen have never held a doubtful 
language. The peril of their belove<J country made them 
forget the factions at home, and prompted them to prefer 
the strongest as the best remedies against Treason ; and if 
any thing could have served to make this course more 
necessar}^, it was the cold and cruel conduct of many of 
the aristocracy during the early period of their country's 
travail. Like Bright, and Forster, and Potter, and Stuart 
Mill, and Goldwin Smith, they rejoice in the wonderful 
change of opinion that has given the IJnited States so 
proud a position in all the great moral and physical attri- 
butes, in all the political and military essentials, among 
the nations of the earth. 



56 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe^ 



VIII.— LONDON AMUSEMENTS. 

THEATRICALS INFERIOR TO THE AMERICAN — DRURY LANE 
THEATRE — THE PRINCESS'S — PRINCE OF WALES'S — THE HAY- 
MARKET — OLYMPIC — OPERA HOUSES — COVENT GARDEN AND 
HER majesty's — PATTI AND TIETJENS — HIGH PRICES OF 
ADMISSION — ALHAMBRA AND CREMORNE-^INTEMPERANCE. 

London, liay 22, 1867. 

Popular amusements in London are far below the same 
kind of recreation in Philadelphia and New York. Exclud- 
ing the Alhambra, with its wonderful music and ballet, and 
its ever-fresh variet}'' of comedy and crowds, the Cremorne 
Gardens, and, of course, the opera for the richer classes, we 
have better-ordered theatres in our great cities than the 
Londoners. Drury Lane, where I have seen enacted a 
piece called " The Great City," is the London Bowery. A 
worse-plaj^ed and worse-conceived drama I do not remem- 
ber. It was difficult to believe that this was the scene of 
the triumph of Kemble, Kean, Garrick, Mrs. Siddons, and 
Miss O'Neil, and that this rude and vulgar audience — for 
those who composed it were not much better in the stalls, 
the best part of the house, where I sat, than in the shriek- 
ing and hooting galleries — occupied the places of those who 
had seen these masters of a noble art. The actors were 
all inferior, and the whole affair dismal to a degree. Not 
much better is the " Royal Princess's " theatre, where An- 
thony and Cleopatra are nightly caricatured by Mr. Loraine 
and Miss Glyn, aided by a miserable ballet. These per- 
formers have some reputation, but they impressed me as 
abominable failures. Probably it was because of the nar- 
row stage ; but this soon proved to be a poor excuse, when 
I saw a piece called '' Caste " well acted on a much smaller 



London Amusements, 57 

space, at the snug little box called the " Prince of Wales's " 
theatre. The Princess's Theatre is about half the size of 
the Walnut in Philadelphia, or the National in Washing- 
ton ; and it was pitiable to see how the audience was packed 
away. The boxes were close and inconvenient, and the 
stalls or dress boxes positively filthy in appearance. In 
New York two such performances as " The Great City " 
at Drury Lane, and "Anthony and Cleopatra" at " The 
Koyal Princess's," would be hissed down the first three 
nights, or damned without merc}^ by the papers. " The 
Haymarket " is another small establishment, but here 
Sothern draws fine houses by his fine personation of Cap- 
tain Devlin, in "Kosedale," the well-known play, improved 
by Boucicault, and joroduced as ''Wild Goose." Charles 
and Mrs. Mathews are drawing good houses, by a series of 
light and pleasing entertainments at the " Olympic." 

The large and expensive establishments are sustained by 
the wealthy, thus forcing the joeople to be content with 
small houses and ordinary acting. Gorgeous indeed are 
the temples devoted to the Opera — Covent Garden, with 
Patti as the queen, and Her Majesty's Theatre, where the 
unsurpassed favorite, Tietjens, holds supreme and still un- 
broken sway. No cost is spared in these splendid temples 
of aristocratic resort. We are now in the midst of " the 
season." Both Houses of Parliament are in full blast, and 
the gentry and nobility, who are the government, are com- 
pelled to give some of their time to what are called public 
duties. They are kept in town in spite of the May and 
June allurements of their country homes. The opera is 
one of the favorite sources of fashionable enjoyment, and 
he who desires to see the representatives of the great 
families has only to buy a ticket for one of the grand per- 
sonations of Tietjens or Patti and be satisfied. Here they 
gather, male and female, in all the luxury of dress and 
decoration. The display of jewels on one of these nights 
is, perhaps, the most interesting sight that could be ofi"ered 



58 Colonel Forney 5 Letters from Europe. 

to the pleasure-seeker. The prices of admission are, to 
the pit about two dollars of our money ; to the stalls, equal 
to the parquette in our Academy, about three dollars of 
our money, while the boxes range from ten dollars to thirty 
dollars. A glance at these figures sufficiently proves the 
impossibility of the poorer classes in England enjoying 
operatic harmonies. And, indeed, all the better class of 

^ theatrical managers, finding it impossible to pay the rent 
for large houses, are forced to charge admission-rates to 
their small establishments which the working people can- 
not pay. The latter are, therefore, either forced to encour- 
age the lowest haunts of dissipation, or to go without 
amusement of any kind. The Alhambra is a famous place, 
but not for ladies. Evans's supper and singing room, ad- 
mission sixpence, is celebrated for its entertainments, but 
gentlemen alone assemble there. The Cremorne Gardens 
are also renowned, but after a .certain hour females of good 
character are glad to retire. The absence of cheap and 

, innocent sports swells the army of intemperance in a terri- 
ble degree. An eminent Englishman said to me this morn- 
ing : " Drink is the curse of our country, next to ignor- 
ance, and there can be no lasting reform till the working- 
men quit beer and gin, and send their children to school." 
I had often heard that if the toiling millions of Europe 
had any advantage over Americans it was in the cheap- 
ness of excellent amusements, but this is not true of the 
United Kingdom. There is almost as much difficulty to 
find good schools at reasonable rates as good places of 
relaxation after a hard day's work. Indeed, regarding the 
condition of the English people as a mass, and they are 
undoubtedly better cared for than the populace of any of the 
continental countries, I can only realize in it a standing con- 
trast to the superior condition of the corresponding mass 
in the United States. In no one essential does the con- 
trast fail. 



English Friends of American Institutions, 59 



IX.— ENGLISH FRIENDS OF AMERICAN 
INSTITUTIONS. 

GOLDWIN smith's ADDRESS AT MANCHESTER — HIS PERSONAL 
KNOWLEDGE OF OUR COUNTRY — LIBERAL ENGLISH STATES-, 
MEN. 

London, May 24, 1867. 

I have met nearly all tlie liberal leaders during my 
brief stay in London, and have been surprised to find how 
fully they understand the American question, and how 
keenly they sympathized with us during the rebellion. 
Much as I looked for, the reality has gone far beyond my 
expectations. Prior to that unprovoked assault on free 
government, comparatively little was known, and then 
only among the educated classes, of the institutions and 
interests of the United States, but during our struggle for 
self-preservation a thousand motives contributed to stimu- 
late the inquiries of the philosopher and the concern of the 
statesman ; and in proportion as they were exercised, the 
masses of the people were reached through their sufferings 
and their sympathies. And thus it has come about that 
a country which a little more than six years ago was 
treated with positive indifference by the European politi- 
cians, and was regarded with comparative ignorance by the 
European masses, is now perhaps the most prominent topic 
of reflection and conversation among rich and poor. The 
organs of the Liberal movement were naturally the first 
to avail themselves of the crisis in our national affairs, 
and it is not surprising that their arguments should have 
been so thorough. 

Nothing that has been written by an American sur- 
passes, as well in the full understanding of the case itself 



6o Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

as in the compactness of its resistless logic, the powerful 
address of Professor Goldwin Smith, read at the last 
meeting of the Manchester Union and Emancipation So- 
ciety. With the possible exception of John Bright, Gold- 
win Smith has contributed more than any other English- 
man to the vindication of our cause before the European 
world. He is personally known to many of our public 
men, having visited our country in 1864, for the purpose 
of observing with his own eyes at least a part of the great 
drama. He was present during the civil contest which 
resulted in the re-election of Abraham Lincoln, and was 
received with grateful appreciation. It is reasonable to 
suppose that one who had watched the American war from 
his own tranquil study, and had written and spoken in 
our behalf before he had personally seen our institutions 
in the double trial of peace and war, would, after such an 
experience, be able to discuss the great question with ten- 
fold force. 

The American reader will be struck with his familiarity 
with our institutions, and by the manner in which he de- 
fines the motives of the slaveholders in going to war, and 
prophesied the effect upon civilization of the success of 
their rebellion. He seems to have omitted no single 
point. Taking up in detail the calumnies of our oppo- 
nents, he refutes them with almost axiomatic force. Em- 
ploying his ripe knowledge of the inequalities in the exam- 
ple of government, as government is administered by the 
British aristocracy, he happily contrasts England and 
America, showing that the success of true representative 
government in our country will compel and complete ulti- 
mate reforms in this. What renders this tribute more 
valuable is the fact that Mr. Smith is a prominent Profes- 
sor of Oxford University, one of the seats of aristocratic 
culture and prejudice. Apart from the intrinsic value of 
such a tribute to American institutions is the fact that he 
has taken our example from which to anticipate the future 



English Friends of American histitutions. 6i 

of tlie wliole civilized world, and while pointing out our 
errors, does not hesitate to avow the conviction that gov- 
ernment has never been so perfect since the birth of man 
as on the American continent, and that if the human race 
is ever to enjoy genuine liberty, it will be by following and 
improving upon the American model. 

There is no doubt that Mr. Smith's address is the plat- 
form of the Liberal party of Great Britain. My inter- 
course with such men as Thomas Hughes, the author of 
" Tom Brown's School Days,", and member for Lam- 
beth; Lord Frederick Cavendish, the member for the 
Northwest Biding of Yorkshire; Thomas Bailey Potter, 
the member for Bochdale ; James Stansfield, Jr., the mem- 
ber for Halifax; John Henderson, the member for Dur- 
ham, and others of the same school, leads me to infer that 
Mr. Smith spoke their individual and collective sentiments 
in this masterly essay. It is easy to judge, from the effect 
that must be produced in America by so candid a review 
of our own position, how it will operate among the con- 
stituencies of which these gentlemen are the representa- 
tives. It marks the vast difference between the present 
hour and the period, not long since, when the Dnited 
States were regarded with indifference by many of the 
great minds of Europe, and with open hostility by the 
aristocratic leaders. 



6i Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 



X.— THE PEABODY FUND. 

VISIT TO PEABODY SQUARE, ISLINGTON — SIR CURTIS M. LAMP- 
SON AND HIS COLLEAGUES — UNPAID BOARD OF MANAGE- 
MENT — HOUSING THE LABORIOUS POOR — WHAT THE 

FUND MAY ACCUMULATIVELY PERFORM THE STRUCTURE 

AT ISLINGTON — WORKING OF THE SYSTEM — IMPROVE- 
MENT, MORAL AND SANITARY — MR. A. T. STEWART OF 
NEW YORK. 

London, May 25, 1867. 

This morning, in company with Sir Cnrtis M. Lampson, 
one of the trustees of the Peabody Fund for the benefit of 
the poor of London, and Mr. Somerby, the secretary of 
the board (both born in the United States), I made my 
promised visit to Peabody Square, Islington, one of the 
five structures already in use, or soon to be devoted to the 
noble objects of the generous founder. Mr. Lampson, a 
native of New England, was, in October, 1866, created a- 
baronet by Queen Yictoria, in token of his numerous 
public services, but particularly for his connection with 
the successful enterprise, the Atlantic Telegra23h Cable. 
I found him, like Mr. Somerby, nevertheless, a devoted ad- 
mirer of America and her institutions, and a genuine sym- 
pathizer in her progress and her principles. The manage- 
ment of the trust has been properlj^ confided to gentlemen 
of known American proclivities. Lord Stanley is presi- 
dent, assisted by Sir Curtis M. Lampson, Sir Emerson 
Tennett, Mr. J. L. Morgan, the eminent banker, and Mr. 
Somerby, as secretary ; and the manner in which they have 
so far discharged their duty is proved by the singular 
success that has crowned their labors. With the excep- 
tion of the secretary, they all serve without remunera- 



The Peabody Fund. 6^ 

tion. The first diflaculty they met was how to define the 
phrase '' the poor," and decide in what shape (after that 
problem was solved) the money should be distributed. After 
careful reflection they resolv.ed to confine their attention, 
in the first instance, to that section of the laborious poor 
who occupy a position above the pauper, and to assist these 
by furnishing to them comfortable tenements at reasonable 
rates, in healthy locations. It will be seen at a glance 
that more good can be efl'ected by this course than by at- 
tempting to alleviate the condition of those who are 
thrown upon the public charge, and are necessarily objects 
for the care of merely charitable institutions, such as 
almshouses, hospitals, dispensaries, &c. The working- 
classes of London, more than the working-classes of any 
other city in the world, need exactly such benefactors as 
Mr. Peabody, and the plan thus agreed upon benefits them 
directly without impairing their self-respect. The honest 
laborer always shrinks from becoming an object of charity, 
and thousands prefer the joangs of want to the pangs of 
dependence. This trait is powerfully portrayed by Mr. 
Dickens in " Our Mutual Friend," where a poor old woman 
is described as keeping constantly in view the horrors of 
pauperism, and the primary duty of saving enough from 
her hard earnings to secure her decent burial at her own 
expense. And the effort of the trustees to prevent the 
tenements from becoming merely establishments for the 
abject poor is obvious in all their arrangements. The im- 
possibility of obtaining good tenements, at a reasonable 
rent, in this swarm of humanity, has thrown the laboring 
classes into the vilest haunts of vice, disease, and filth ; 
and the sure effect has been to pollute their children in 
mind and body. The Peabody benevolence meets at least 
one part of this demand, with the double advantage of pro- 
viding good tenements for the industrious j^oor and of 
adding the small rents they pay to the general fund, so as 
to perpetuate the good work and to increase the number 



64 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

of tenements with increasing years. Sir Curtis Lampson 
estimates that, if the money thus accumulated is honestly 
administered for two hundred years, it will have accumu- 
lated enough to provide for three-fourths of all the indus- 
trious poor of London. That this is not an extravagant 
expectation, can be shown by a simple calculation of the 
annual interest of the nearly million of dollars donated, 
with the regular accretions from the moderate rents. 
There are many interesting incidents on record of the 
growth of small bequests, in the course of time, into enor- 
mous charities. 

The premises at Islington consist of four blocks of build- 
ings, comprising in all 155 tenements, accommodating 650 
persons, or nearly two hundred families. The whole cost 
of these buildings, exclusive of the sum paid for the land, 
amounted to £31,690. 

The principle and organization in each of these extensive 
structures is the same. Drainage and ventilation have 
been ensured with the utmost possible care; the instant 
removal of dust and refuse is effected by means of shafts 
which descend from every corridor to cellars in the base- 
ment, whence it is carted away ; the passages are all kept 
clean, and lighted with gas, without any cost to the ten- 
ants ; water from cisterns in the roof is distributed by 
]pipes into every tenement ; and there are baths free for all 
who desire to use them. Laundries, with wringing ma- 
chines and drying lofts, are at the service of all the in- 
mates, who are thus relieved from the inconvenience of 
damp vapors in their apartments, and the consequent 
damage to their furniture and bedding. 

Every living-room or kitchen is abundantly provided 
with cupboards, shelving, and other conveniences, and 
each fire-place includes a boiler and an oven. But what 
gratify the tenants, perhaps more than any other part of 
the arrangements, are the ample and airy spaces which 
serve as play-grounds for their children, where they are 



The Peabody Fund, 65 

always under their mothers' eyes, and safe from the risk of 
passing carriages and laden carts. 

In fixing the rent for all this accommodation the trustees 
were influenced by two considerations. In the first place, 
they felt it incumbent on them, conformably with the inten- 
tion of rendering the Peabody Fund reproductive, to 
charge for each room such a moderate percentage on the 
actual cost of the houses as would briug in a reasonable 
annual income to the general fund. In the second place, 
they were desirous, without coming into undue competition 
with the owners of house property less favorably circum- 
stanced, to demonstrate to their proprietors the practica- 
bility of rendering the dwellings of the laboring poor 
healthful, cheerful, and attractive; and at the same time 
securiug to the landlords a fair return for their investments. 
At the present moment, owing to the vast changes in the 
metropolis, by which the houses of the laboring poor have 
been demolished to so great an extent, the cost of accom- 
modation for them has been greatly increased. It of course 
varies in different localities ; but, on an average, the weekly 
charge for a single room of a very poor description is from 
2s. 6d. to 3s. (about t5 cents American money) ; for two 
rooms, 5s. or 5s. 6d. ; and for three, from 6s. 6d. to Ys. 

But the mere test of rent afl'ords no adequate standard 
by which to contrast the squalor and discomfort of one of 
these tenements with the light, and airy, and agreeable 
apartments in the Peabody buildings ; and for one room 
there the charge per week is 2s. 6d. ; for two rooms, 4s. ; 
and for three rooms, 5s. 

As Mr. Peabody had directed by his letter that the sole 
qualification to be required in a tenant was to be in '^ an 
ascertained condition of life, such as brings the individual 
within the description of the poor of London, combined 
with moral character and good conduct as a member of 
society," it became the duty of the trustees to ascertain by 
actual inquiry — first, that the circumstances of the person 



66 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

proposing Mmself as a tenant were such as to entitle hinfi 
to admission ; and, secondly, that in the opinion of his 
employers there was nothing in his conduct or moral 
character to disqualify him from partaking in the benefits 
of the fund. 

These two conditions once established, the tenant, on 
taking possession of his new residence, finds himself as 
free in action and as exempt from intrusive restraint or 
officious interference as if he occupied a house in one of 
the adjacent streets. His sense of independence is pre- 
served by the consciousness that he pays for what he en- 
joys ; and for this payment he provides himself with a dwel- 
ling so much superior to that which he had formerly been 
accustomed to, that the approach to his home is no longer 
accompanied by a feeling of humiliation. 

As the result of the above inquiries, several applications 
for admission were declined, on the grounds either of a 
condition in life too easy to entitle the individual to be 
classed with the laboring poor, or of a moral character 
which could not bear investigation, because of habitual 
drunkenness or conviction before a legal tribunal. In some 
instances, too, the families of persons desirous to become 
tenants were found to be too numerous for the accommoda- 
tion available ; and these, to avoid unwholesome crowding, 
were unavoidably excluded. 

The number of persons who took possession of their new 
homes in Spitalfields was upwards of 200, including such 
classes as charwomen, monthly nurses, basket-makers, 
butchers, carpenters, firemen, laborers, porters, omnibus- 
drivers, sempstresses, shoemakers, tailors, waiters, ware- 
housemen, &c. 

In the buildings at Islington, which were opened in Sep- 
tember, 1865, the inmates are of the same class, with the 
addition of persons employed in other trades : watch- 
finishers, turners, stay-makers, smiths, sawyers, printers, 
painters, laundresses, letter-carriers, artificial flower-makers, 



The Peabody Fund, 67 

dress-makers, carmen, cabinet-makers, bookbinders, and 
others. The entire community there now consists of 614 
individuals, of whom 19 are widows, the rest married 
persons and children. 

In evidence of the improved salubrity of the buildings, 
the superintendents report that ill-health is rare, and that 
the number of deaths since the first buildings were opened, 
in February, 1864 — nearly three years ago — have been one 
man aged thirty, who died of a chronic complaint, and four 
children, one of whom was under five, and two under two 
years old. 

The social contentment of the tenants is freely expressed ; 
no complaints have been made of any of the arrangements 
provided for their comfort, and they all speak approvingly 
of the unaccustomed advantages they enjoy. Amongst 
these they especially particularize the security of their fur- 
niture and efi'ects, which are no longer liable, as they for- 
merly were, to be taken in distress should the landlord 
become a defaulter. 

As regards the moi*aI conduct of the tenantry, the super- 
intendent reports that habitual drunkenness is unknown, 
and intoxication infrequent, and where the latter does occur 
to the annoyance of others it is judiciously dealt with, by 
giving notice to the offender that, in the event of its recur- 
rence, he must prepare to leave. There has been but one 
person removed for quarrelling and disturbing the peace ; 
and one expelled for non-payment of rent. These excep- 
tions, out of a community consisting of 880 persons, speak 
strongly for the self-respect and moral principles by which 
they are influenced. 

There are four other squares, two of which have already 
received occupants, and the others will soon be completed. 
The main buildings are of stone, five stories high, four 
being occupied by the families, and the last or upper range 
used for the purpose of a laundry for drying clothes, where 
fine baths are provided for general use. I conversed with 



68 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

many of the inmates. They were all clean, healthy, and 
happy. The men were off at work, and the women seemed 
to be industrious and tidy. The contrast between their 
condition and that of the poor in the miserable houses 
around us was painful in the extreme. In some of the 
rooms of the latter as many as seven human beings were 
crowded. In other sections the difference was even more 
saddening. The airy and comfortable quarters of Mr. Pea- 
body's tenants, with the neat kitchen and comfortable bed- 
rooms, and the fine play-ground for the children, the gar- 
den for common cultivation and use, and the work-shops 
for such of the men as might prefer working on the prem- 
ises, proved that the architect had given a conscientious 
study to his work. 

Mr. Peabody's example will be followed, now that its 
complete success is established, in both hemispheres. Mr. 
A. T. Stewart, of New York, has already procured copies 
of the plans and photographs of the buildings I have 
attempted to describe. Parliament has repeatedly noticed 
the work itself, and the owners of the colossal fortunes, the 
plutocracy of England, cannot resist the eloquent invocation 
to their consciences and pockets. They cannot afford the 
reproach that they have been indifferent while England's 
honest poor are relieved by an American. Indeed, the 
trustees have already received a bequest of thirty thousand 
pounds sterling from a worthy gentleman. The romantic 
stories founded upon wills and legacies in this country, 
taken in most cases from the facts, may well lead to the 
hope that other rich men, to prevent their falling to the 
Crown, will throw their estates into this noble fund. 
There is hardly a great city in America in which Mr. Pea- 
body's liberality should not be followed up ; and there is 
not one in which infinite good cannot be wrought. " The 
poor ye have always." And as I saw these happy children 
enjoying their spacious play-ground this morning, and 
talked with their gratified parents and heard the report of 



Mr, Spurge on s Tabernacle. 69 

the superintendent, I felt proud that the author of all this 
splendid benevolence was an American, and predicted that 
his royal generosity would find many imitators in his own 
and other countries. 



XI.— ME. SPUEGEON'S TABEEXACLE. 

SUNDAY IN LONDON — CHARLES H. SPURGEON, THE POPULAR 
PREACHER — HIS CHURCH DESCRIBED — THE CONGREGATION — 
THE MINISTER AND HIS SERMON — HIS ABILITY, ENERGY, 
AND WELL-DOING. 

London, May 26, 1867. 

Sunday in London is almost as sedate as Sunday in 
Philadelphia. There is a general closing of shops and 
stores, and in fine weather a general exodus to the outside 
resorts, such as Richmond, Kensington Gardens, Bushy 
Park, &c. But as we have only seen the sun about half a 
dozen times, since our arrival, and then by the merest 
glimpses, and as this morning presaged another spell of 
cold and rain, I thought the better way to s^^end it was by 
hearing the popular loreacher, Mr. Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 
in his great Tabernacle, close to the Elephant and Castle, 
Kennington. It was an hour before the time when we 
reached the spot, and so we had leisure to inspect his 
church, a vast building of Italian architecture, with por- 
ticoes, costing over $150,000, most of which was raised 
by the individual efforts of the energetic clergyman. It 
wiU hold over four thousand persons seated, with ingress 
and egress through fifteen doors, to prevent danger from 
fire or sudden panic. It is built with strict regard to the 
laws of hearing and sound ; has two tiers of boxes like a 
theatre running around the sides and one of the ends, the 



70 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

other end being the platform from which Mr. Spiirgeon 
speaks, and is wainscoted from floor to ceiling, to add to the 
facility of discourse, singing and listening. There is no build- 
ing in Washington or Philadelphia to which I can liken it. 

About half-past ten the crowd came pouring in by all 
the doors — working people with hard hands, toil-worn 
faces, in decent, humble apparel. Here, as everywhere 
else, I traced the marked contrast between what are called 
the laboring classes in England and America. In Phil- 
adelphia, the loveliest city in the world, if this is a fine 
afternoon, Broad street, from Chestnut to beyond Master, 
will be thronged with people — men, women, and children — 
who, if seen in London, might be set down as the nobility, 
judged by their neat and almost costly dresses, the beauty 
of the females, and the noble bearing of the men. Here 
toil and poverty, as almost everj'where, go hand in hand, 
and you realize what Bulwer sa3''s of "low birth and iron 
fortune," in the careworn faces and common clothing (f 
those who frequent such churches as Mr. Spurgeon's or 
pass along the highwaj^s of this world of a town. I can 
say without disparagement that I did not see one hand- 
some face in the crowd of women who sat rapt and absorbed 
with his sermon. I was not carried away by his eloquence 
or his language. 

He has a wonderful voice, and he manages it with 
wonderful skill, and there was not a soul in the vast 
audience that did not hear him. A small man, about the 
size of Rev. Dr. Sunderland, of Washington, a little over 
thirty, with heavy dark hair hiding a not very high fore- 
head, and disclosing a good-humored but \ij no means 
intellectual face. In point of ability, I would not think 
of instituting a qpmparison between him and the bold, 
incisive and magnetic scholar and preacher for God and 
the Republic in our national capital. We have twenty 
more powerful and cultivated divines in Philadelphia. He 
preached from the 33d chapter of Isaiah, 17th verse — 



Mr. Spurgeons Tabernacle, 71 

" Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty ; they shall 
behold the land that is very far off;" a noble theme, most 
inviting to the imagination, and to a dis^olay of such 
Scriptural knowledge as would have been invaluable to such 
If^teners. He did not catch the scope of the lesson, but 
repeated himself until his iteration became almost painful. 
Yet that he was doing good among his parishioners was 
very evident. The story of his connection with them is 
very instructive. 

He began to preach in what was a very dismal and 
impoverished part of London when he was only eighteen, 
and now, at the end of twelve or fourteen years, he, and 
he alone, may be called the builder of the splendid temple 
in which they worship with him. Only three years beyond 
thirty, he is their instructor and their idol. To their 
interest he gives all his time. He rarely acts by deputy. 
To educate worthy young men connected with his church, 
he has established a college which he maintains chiefly 
by lecturing. He presides at their prayer-meetings, leads 
in their choirs, attends to their finances, ministers to their 
wants, settles their disputes, and fights their battles. It is 
said that he refused to preach in the Tabernacle until every 
dollar of the money needed for its construction was raised 
and paid, even refusing to take his own salary till the debt 
was extinguished. Better, far better, is such a record, 
than education without heart, scholarship without hu- 
manity, and genius without sincerity. And when I look 
over this startling scene of human life, and think that three 
millions of human beings are compressed into fifteen miles 
of brick and mortar, and that there is not a day that 
passes from morning into night, and from night into 
eternity, that does not see ''one more unfortunate " added 
to those who go to their long account unshrived and 
unknown, I feel that I would rather be Charles H. Spurgeon, 
surrounded with the love of the rescued souls of the working 
people of his parish, than the Lord Bishop of a thousand 
parishes of England. 

5 



72 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 



XII.— JOHN BRIGHT, M. P. 

JOHN BRIGHT, LEADER OF THE LIBERALS — FAMILIAR WITH 
AMERICAN AFFAIRS — ANXIETY FOR OUR SUCCESS — THE 

IRISH IN AMERICA THE COLORED PEOPLE — FENIANISM 

AMERICAN CORRESPONDENCE OF THE LONDON NEWSPAPERS 
— ^ITS EVIL PURPOSE— STRIKES — THE LABOR QUESTION— MR. 
BRIGHT'S PARLIAMENTARY RECORD — HIS POPULARITY IN 
THE UNITED STATES. 

London, May 27, 1867. 

John Bright, the acknowledged leader of the Liberals 
in Parliament and throughout Great Britain, is a much 
younger man than I expected to meet. He is in his fifty- 
sixth year, but does not look to be more than forty-eight. 
Although not taller, he is stouter than Speaker Colfax. 
His countenance is not unlike that of Hon. James M. 
Ashley, the Bepresentative in Congress from Toledo, Ohio. 
A more genial, animated, and benevolent face I have never 
studied. You see at a glance that he is a thoroughly con- 
scientious statesman ; that all his opinions are convictions, 
to be maintained against every odd and at any sacrifice. In 
my long and agreeable interview with Mr. Bright, I found 
him completely "posted" in American aflairs. He was as 
familiar with the statesmen and soldiers who figured before 
and during the rebellion, and with the details of political 
parties in the United States, as if he knew the first per- 
sonally, and had assisted in the direct management of the 
second. All his questions were astonishingly intelligent 
and accurate, proving equally his intense interest in our 
afi'airs, and the care with which he had studied the actors 
in the drama of the war. Indeed, Mr, Bright deserves the 
title of the champion of American liberty in the British 



John Bright^ M,P. 73 

Parliament. There has never been a moment when he has 
doubted or turned back in the support of genuine repub- 
lican principles. His anxiety for the success of the great 
Radical party of America was well calculated to excite my 
gratitude. Proud and full of praise of the manner in which 
the XXXIXth and XLth Congress had completed the work 
of reconstruction, he is extremely solicitous that no mistake 
may endanger our triumph at the coming Presidential elec- 
tion, and that nothing will hinder a wise and continued ad- 
ministration of the National Government by the men who 
saved it from ruin. That such a man should be loved by 
the English masses, and faithfully followed by his associates 
in Parliament, is very natural, and we in America should 
not refuse to listen to his counsel. I never shall forget the 
fervor with which he said : " Nothing in history equals the 
glorious triumph of humanity and liberty in your country. 
You will find things much changed for the bett'er in Great 
Britain. The overthow of your enemies at home has sur- 
rounded your cause with friends abroad. The wonderful 
magnanimity with which you have treated the rebels (who 
would have instantly been hung by hundreds if they had 
taken arms against a monarchy) has been a terrible con- 
trast to the cruelty of these bad men, and an admonition 
and example to the tyrants of the earth." 

As Mr. Bright had been laboring for several days past 
to save the lives of those Fenian leaders who have been 
sentenced to be hung (especially Burke), and as, when he 
spoke to me, there was some doubt whether the efforts of 
his friends and himself would prevail, he gave peculiar 
emphasis to this remark: ''You tell me," he went on to 
say, "what I know and deeply regret, that Irishmen in 
America vote with the falsely-called Democratic party, 
and against the noble Kepublicans, who are the courageous 
friends of human rights all over the world, and this is the 
more painful when I tell you that the Liberal party in 
Parliament has -never had so able and faithful a body of 



74 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

supporters as the majority of the members from Ireland. 
But time will cure all this. If God in His infinite provi- 
dence does not bring the Irish in America rightlj^ to view 
their duty to the onl}^ country in which they can truly 
prosper, they will gradually be lost in the overwhelming 
growth and preponderating influence of the native-born 
element, white and black. In the nature of things, the 
tide of emigration from Ireland to America cannot be 
greater hereafter than it has been, while the increase of 
your homogeneous population will render any attempt to 
organize internal combinations, based upon either the 
Catholic religion or hatred of a particular people, compar- 
atively ineffectual." 

Mr Bright said the deportment of the colored people in 
our country since their liberation was the "sublimest 
spectacle in history ;" and when I assured him how com- 
pletely they had disappointed the predictions of their foes 
and the fears of their friends, he said he never doubted how 
the experiment of setting them free would end. The ballot — 
being the representative of an inalienable right, a natural 
franchise, which, belonging to all men alike in a civilized 
country, cannot be withheld without gross injustice, and 
even when conceded conveys the assumption of a revolting 
presumption by those who aspire to concede it — makes men 
emulous to be worthy of the responsibilities of citizenship. 
" I may not live to see the day, but [turning to his son, a 
young gentleman of about twenty years of age, standing 
at his side] this lad will, when colored men as able as any 
of your whites will figure in your national councils." 

One part of this interesting interview deserves a special 
consideration — that where Mr. Bright took especial j)ains 
to deny that the Liberal leaders entertained any purpose of 
creating bitter feelings between England and the United 
States. His language here was precisely what I have 
heard from the lips of John Stuart Mill, M. P., Goldwin 
Smith, Thomas B. Potter, M. P., Thomas Hughes, M. P., 



Mr. Bright^ M,F. 75 

(the author of " Tom Brown"), Lord Charles Frederick Cav- 
endish, M. P., William Edward Forster, M. P., Sir Francis 
Crossley, M. P., and other men of the same school. One 
and all, they deplored the Fenian movement in Ireland, 
and regretted the action of the House of Representa- 
tives at Washington, sympathizing with that calamitous 
experiment. The working classes in Great Britain can 
never he secured in the enjoyment of political rights by 
stirring up bad blood betiveen the people of the two countries. 
The Tory papers are so well convinced of this they they 
are trying to revive and keep alive the bitterest animosi- 
ties between England and America. 

All the letters written by the correspondents of the 
London Times, Telegraph, and Standard, from Philadel- 
phia, New York, and Washington, are filled with deliber- 
ate misstatements of American affairs, expressly to excite 
resentment against our institutions and. people. Since I 
have been in London I have carefalh^ noted these letters, 
and firmly believe they are written by order, to weaken the 
Liberal party, the leaders of which are constantly holding 
up the United States as the model of free government. 
The staple of all these letters is the same ; the disaffection, 
turbulence, and ignorance among the blacks of the South ; 
the steady tendency to socialistic revolutions among the 
white workingmen of the old free States as the object and 
end of the system of " strikes ;" the depreciation of the 
national securities and currency, and the general disloca- 
tion of American society. The very reverse of all this being 
the notorious fact, it is not difficult to discern the object of 
maintaining these systematic perversions. Nothing more 
materially weakens the English aristocracy than the suc- 
cessful working of democracy in America ; and nothing 
would so surely strengthen the first as the successful circu- 
lation of the falsehood that the other is desirous of provok- 
ing hostilities between the United States and Great Britain. 
The only interest in America that has sedulously conspired 



76 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

to precipitate war between the two countries is the so- 
called Democratic or Copperhead party ; the very party, 
by the way, which the British aristocracy sympathized with 
throughout the recent rebellion. The agitation among the 
working people of England has excited a counter agitation 
among the emploj' ers, and the Tory papers are doing their 
utmost to sow the seeds of lasting hatred between the 
middle and " the lower classes," as they are called here. If 
they succeed, the work of reform and enfranchisement will 
be fatally impaired and indefinitely postponed. 

You will have observed that Mr. Bright and his associ- 
ates, profoundly respecting the justice of many of the 
demands of the mechanics and laborers of Great Britain, 
have taken care so to advise and direct their operations 
that they may not run into violence, and thus give the 
Tory papers a new opportunity to array the employers 
against the employed. The eagerness with which the 
American correspondents of the Times, Telegraph, and 
Standard, misrepresent the " strike " among the working- 
men in our country, for the purpose of weakening Mr. 
Bright and his friends in their efforts to ameliorate the 
condition of the working people here, I have already re- 
ferred to. Goldwin Smith has taken occasion, in several 
powerful essays, to point out the distinction between the 
labor organizations in the United Kingdom and in the 
United States, and it has given me satisfaction to corro- 
borate the views of that j^rofound thinker and patriotic 
observer with such undoubted data as can be supplied 
from my own knowledge of and experience with the men 
of toil in my own countr}'-. In England mechanics are 
paid so much less than with us, that a " strike " in London, 
for instance, is a far more serious affair than a " strike " 
in Philadelphia or Chicago, where, notwithstanding the 
higher prices of living, the wages of labor are far in ad- 
vance of those paid here ; and it stands to reason that if 
the labor movements in the United States secure any 



Mr, Bright^ M,P. 77 

advantages, the result must operate quickly and health- 
fully upon the labor movements in other countries. I 
venture to assure our Liberal friends that if the demand 
for reducing the day of toil to eight hours prevailed in our 
country, it would work as well as the demand for ten 
hours a day, and that the additional time thus secured to 
the producing classes would be employed by them in add- 
ing to their intellectual and moral resources. Undoubt- 
edly, when individual and associated capital have realized, 
and are even now realizing enorhaous profits, it cannot be 
];)resumptuous if those who contribute to these profits peti- 
tion for at least a shadow of the benefit heretofore exclu- 
sively enjoyed by masters and employers. The subject is 
one that demands the attention of the statesman, and he is 
either a bigot or a tyrant who proposes to dismiss it with 
a sneer or to punish the workingmen by personal proscrip- 
tion or legal penalties. In discussing these and kindred 
topics, the time passed swiftly in my interview with John 
Bright, and I did not hesitate to accept his kind invitation 
to renew it at an early day. 

Mr, Bright is one of the present sitting members from 
Birmingham. His business is that of a cotton-spinner and 
manufacturer, being a partner in the firm of John Bright 
and Brothers, of Rochdale. He sat in Parliament from 
the city of Durham from July, 1843, to July, 1847, and 
from Manchester from July, 184*7, until April, 1857, when 
he was defeated after a violent contest, because he belonged 
•to what was called "the Peace party," and had expressed 
his dissatisfaction at England's taking part with France 
in the war in the Crimea, and with the Chinese war, began, 
he thought, on very insufficient grounds. The voters of 
Birmingham immediately took him up and elected him 
one of their members, in the August following, and he has 
ever since served them in that capacity. During all this 
Parliamentary experience of nearly twenty-four years, 
John Bright has been the same heroic, consistent, and 



7 8 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

conscientious advocate of liberty. The cause of America, 
always attractive to him, became intensely so when Slavery 
flew to arms against our beloved Union, and when Slavery 
fell, twenty-five millions of rescued people acknowledged 
among theii' supremest obligations their gratitude to the 
cotton-spinner of Rochdale. John Bright 's grandest tri- 
umph was his last, viz. : the overthrow of treason in Amer- 
ica, and the resulting confirmation of all his prophecies 
before the aristocracy of England. I told him that if he 
visited our country he would receive a welcome snch as 
had been extended to no man since the day when the 
Marquis de Lafayette paid his second visit to our shores. 
When Laiayette became the guest of the American nation, 
more than forty years ago, he deplored slavery as a stain 
upon our otherwise fair escutcheon ; and his letters and 
speeches uttered the prayer that it might soon be erased. 
But if John Bright came to America, it would be after 
the poison-spot had been removed, and removed in re- 
sponse to his own appeals, and in consequence of the 
courage of the armies of the Union. He answered that 
he feared he could never visit the United States. He 
knew he had many friends in that country, but his field 
of labor was here ; and, if God gave him health and strength 
to maintain the good fight, he believed that the masses of 
America would remember him as kindly and as long as if 
he temporarily left it for the purpose of receiving their 
congratulations. 



Langham Hotel. 79 



XIII.— LANGHAM HOTEL. 

ENGLISH AND AMERICAN HOTELS — SUPERIORITY OE THE LAT- 
TER — COST OE LIVING IN LONDON — DESCRIPTION OF THE 
LANGHAM HOTEL — A PHILADELPHIAN IN CHARGE. 

• London, May 28, 1867. 

I am stopping at the Langham Hotel, at the southern 
extremity of Portland Place, which is regarded as the 
healthiest site in London, overlooking the noblest thorough- 
fares in the metropolis and commanding a view of the broad 
walk of Regent's Park, and, on a clear day, of the beautiful 
heights of Hampstead and Highgate. As this establish- 
ment is now in charge of an American^ Colonel James M. 
Sanderson (formerly of Philadelphia), and is partially con- 
ducted ui3on American principles, being in this respect an 
experiment in the British metropolis, a few words in regard 
to it may not be uninteresting. The difference between 
the English and American hotels is, in my opinion, largely 
in favor of the latter, and the success which promises to 
crown Colonel Sanderson's effort strengthens this convic- 
tion. While there are undoubtedly many ideas which 
the American hotel-keepers might get from their English 
associates, nothing is clearer than that the system so suc- 
cessful in our countr}^ will, when fairly tried, supersede 
many of the English habitudes. Colonel Sanderson has 
adopted a plan which unites the best points of the three 
systems, English, French, and American — the comfort of 
the first, the elegance of the second, and the discipline and 
organization of the third. You cannot enter an English 
hotel without being instantly chilled. Even the Langham, 
with its American guests and kindly English faces, is cold 
in comparison to such establishments as the Continental, 



8o Colonel Fornefs Letters from Europe, 

in Philadelphia ; the Brevoort, in New York ; and Barnum's, 
in Baltimore. The English people are undoubtedly more 
home-like than the French, and therefore more like our own ; 
but their hotels are, to my sensibilities, exceedingly repul- 
sive. Of course, much of this results from the fact that 
every thing is strange to me ; but no Englishman that I 
have met, especially of those who are enjoying the comforts 
of the Langham, refuses to admit that in many respects our 
hotels are superior. 

The Langham is an immense establishment. It was 
built expressly for the purpose, and was first opened on 
the 16th day of June, 1865. The entire cost of the build- 
ing and furniture amounts to the enormous sum of fifteen 
hundred thousand dollars in gold. It is colossal in size, 
palatial in appearance, and built in the Italian style. The 
water consumed on the premises, amounting to 25,000 gal- 
lons dail}'-, pronounced to be the purest in London, is sup- 
plied from an artesian well on the premises, pumped by 
two engines of 14 horse-power each. The principal hall, 
which is reached through a massive stone portico, is fifty 
feet square. This imposing structure is five stories high. 
The dining-hall, or coflee-room, as it is called, is one hun- 
dred feet in length by forty in breadth. There are in all 
thirty-two drawing-rooms; thirty-four suites, comprising 
bed, bath, and dressing-rooms, with over two hundred single 
and double bed-rooms detached. The kitchen, which is 
one of the largest in the kingdom, is seventy-five feet by 
fifty-nine, and perfect in all its arrangemeuts. Pages, in- 
stead o^ men-servants, do the errands in the house, while 
" commissioners," composed of retired veterans, are sta- 
tioned near the hotel, who, for a consideration, will run with 
a message, chaperone a young lady or wait upon an old one, 
attend to the baby, and do a variety of chores handily and 
cleverly at the rate of sixpence per mile or hour. These 
messengers are dressed in uniforms as gorgeous as major- 
generais, and are as polite as dancing-masters. The prices 



Langham Hotel, 8i 

at the Langham are ahout the same as at the Continental ; 
certainly not less* I pay for my room a dollar and a half 
in gold daily, yet, with the most moderate breakfast 
and dinner, I cannot bring my net expenses below four 
dollars, and this exclusive of the incessant calls for extra 
compensation from servants of all descriptions. 

It is amusing to notice how Colonel Sanderson's attempts 
to introduce American customs are received by his English 
patrons, and yet it is interesting to watch the sure progress 
of these im.provements. Gradually the Langham is becom- 
ing the headquarters of our countrymen, and these attract 
many of the natives, especially those who are admirers of 
American institutions, a class that has rapidly and astonish- 
ingly increased since the overthrow of the rebellion. The 
company under whose auspices the Langham was con- 
structed is composed of a boa^f d of direction, with the Earl 
of Shrewsbury and Talbot as its chairman, and a number 
of enterprising citizens as assistant directors. It was not 
until several attempts to administer this great machine had 
failed, that they secured the services of our old friend San- 
derson. He manages the concern under their general su- 
perintendence, and judging by the crowds that are daily 
turned away, and by the general expressions of satisfaction 
among his visitors or guests, he will, if he does not pay a 
good percentage upon the enormous amount invested in 
its construction, so secure their confidence as to induce 
them to continue him in his jDresent position. Colonel 
Sanderson was a brave oflQcer of the Union army, and, 
although probably a fixture in London, has never abated in 
his attachment to his native country. Without introduc- 
ing politics into his establishment, the fact that his senti- 
ments are known to be strong on the Union side adds to my 
anxiety to recommend him and the Langham to my readers. 



82 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 



XIV.— EEBEL LEADEES IN EXILE. 

REBEL EMISSARIES IN PARIS — CHANGE OE OPINION IN 
EUROPE — DOWNFALL OF CONFEDERATE CAUSE AND LEAD- 
ERS — JOHN C. BRECKINRIDGE IN LONDON — JUDAH BEN- 
JAMIN, G. N. SANDERS, LEWIS P. WIGFALL, AND ROBERT 
TOOMBS — JEFFERSON DAVIS. 

London, May 29, 1867. 

During the American war, London and Paris were so 
infested by rebels that no loyal citizen of the Republic 
could visit these or any other of the British and Continen- 
tal cities without being subjected to inconceivable humilia- 
tion. The '-'Confederate" agents not only occupied what is 
called ''the ground," but contrived to arouse the aristoc- 
racy of the old countries in their behalf And no one 
doubts now that there were several occasions when Eng- 
land would have been forced into conflict with America as 
a result of these incessant machinations but for the energy 
and wisdom of Cobden, Bright, Potter, Cavendish, and 
their compeers, and the direct interposition of Prince 
Albert, always known to be averse to what would have 
been a most bloody issue. France, whatever may be said 
to the contrary now, was always plotting to force Great 
Britain into hostilities with us, and it did not need the 
Mexican experiment to prove that the intrigues of the 
rebel emissaries in Paris met the cordial approval of the 
silent Emperor. But now all this has been changed ; and 
" such a change !" If the truly loyal American desires to 
realize how thoroughly his country has been vindicated in 
Europe by the overthrow of Treason and the success of 
the Congressional policy of reconstruction, he has only to 
visit London, Paris, or any of the other great capitals. 



Rehel Leaders in Exile, 83 

There is no surer proof of this than the fate which has 
overtaken the '^ Confederate " cause and the " Confeder- 
ate " leaders who have taken refuge in Europe. No more 
do we hear the American Union satirized and denounced ; 
the poor Yankees are no longer ridiculed on the streets by 
travelling mountebanks, or caricatured on the stage by de- 
generate actors. The aristocracy on the one hand, and 
the plutocracy on the other, are either silent, or openly 
confess that they were mistaken in their estimate of the 
American character, or own that' our example calls forth 
their surprise. Even the Tory journals confine their abuse 
of our country to the publication of correspondence from 
Philadelphia, Washington, and JN'ew York, so crowded 
with falsehoods that each succeeding letter is the uncon- 
scious correction of the fabrications of its predecessors. 

But the most significant of all these indications is, as I 
have said, the fate which has overtaken the Confederate 
cause and the Confederate leaders. The failure of Eraser, 
Trenholm <fe Co., the great house at Liverpool, through 
which the rebels carried on their enormous transactions in 
cotton, constructed and sent out their iron-clad navy, and 
paid their agents in Europe and Canada, will lead to some 
rich disclosures. Our Government, under the sagacious 
counsels of Hon. Charles Francis Adams, the American 
minister in London, had anticipated this catastrophe, and 
will take care to receive, with the aid of the British courts 
of law, whatever may be left from the wreck of this once 
proud and all-defying organization. 

Not less significant is the present condition of most of 
the Confederate leaders in London and Paris. John C. 
Breckinridge is frequently seen at the Langham Hotel, 
where I am stopping, wofully changed in appearance, if 
not in opinions. A gentleman who conversed with him a 
few days ago says that Breckinridge did not hesitate to 
declare against the good taste of the defeated rebel lead- 
ers claiming any rights under the Constitution which they 



84 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

had repudiated and tlie Government they had vainly 
fought to destroy, and that, whatever others might do, he 
proposed to submit to fate. Judah P. Benjamin is a prac- 
titioner at the London bar, but, unlike Breckinridge, does 
not entertain the slightest hope of being restored to the 
rights he has doubly forfeited by his violated oaths to the 
American Republic and now by his new oath to the Brit- 
ish Government. Mr. Benjamin is the counsel of the cele- 
brated C. K. Priolean, of Liverpool, the financial head and 
front of the Confederate cause during the rebellion, and 
now heavily involved in the overthrow of Eraser, Tren- 
holm & Co. He is also said to be the American editor of 
the London Telegraph, and the writer of the articles, that 
now delight the Tory readers of that pretended Liberal 
paper, eulogistic of Jefferson Davis and the " Lost Cause." 
The well-known George N. Sanders is also sojourning in 
London, and has just passed through the courts of bank- 
ruptcy for certain individual obligations. The violent 
Lewis P. Wigfall, of Texas, also here, is engaged in the 
precious business of collecting the lists of the victims who 
invested in the celebrated cotton loans of the Confederate 
Government, and in the other securities of that miserable 
conspiracy itself His hope is that the British courts will 
decide, and that the American Government will abide by 
the decision, that the rebels enjoyed belligerent rights in 
the recent- war, in which event the credulous holdefs of 
these bonds are told by Mr. Wigfall that they will be reim- 
bursed by the conquering Government of the Union. 
Robert Toombs, of Georgia, was recently in London, not 
less vehement than ever, though greatly reduced in his 
physical proportions. It is unnecessary to comment upon 
this spectacle, save to add that the English aristocracy 
will not again be caught in such a trap as that set for 
them by the American rebels. They are heartily ashamed 
of themselves, and you will readily conceive that in pro- 
portion as they admit the injustice of their prejudices 



The Crystal Palace at Sydenham, 85 

against our country^ tliey lose their confidence in and 
withdraw their support from the vanquished Confederate 
leaders. 

It is announced in one of the morning papers that Mr. 
Jefferson Davis intends a visit to London. If he comes, 
his will not be a Garibaldi welcome, ^he cheated and 
plundered Englishmen who invested their money in the 
Confederate loans will not be inspired to extend an ecstatic 
greeting to the despotic head of the pro-slavery revolt. 
Nor will the great body of the British people, so fall of 
amazement and delight at the triumph of universal suffrage 
in the United States and the success of the corresponding 
measures of reconstr action, feel like joining in an ovation 
to a man whose successful rebellion would have held four 
millions of human beings in perj)etual slavery, and so have 
defeated the mighty movement extending the right to vote 
to the householders of Great Britain. 



XV.— THE CRYSTAL PALACE AT 
SYDENHAM. 

UNDERGROUND RAILROAD — SIR JOSEPH PAXTON — PRINCE AL- 
BERT — CRYSTAL PALACE DESCRIBED — -MUSIC AND SINGING — 
ANTIQUITY AND MANUFACTURE — NATURE AND ART — THE 
GALLERY— A SOLDIER OF THE ARMY OF FREEDOM. 

London, May 29, 1867. 
I sought and found the Crystal Palace by the Under- 
ground and London and Brighton Railroads. Much 
has been written in America about the subterranean mode 
of travel, and now that there is an effort to intro- 
duce it into New York- city, some description of its 
operation in London may not be uninteresting. The 



86 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

Metropolitan or Underground Railroad has cost $6,500,000, 
and consists of three and a-half miles of tunnels, which 
run on a level with or below the gas-pipes and water- 
mains. The travelling is exceedingly agreeable ; the car- 
riages are at least as good as those that course through 
the upper air, are beautifully lighted with gas, and as the 
engines condense their steam, and use coke instead of 
coal, there is little escape of smoke or vapor. The 
fare for the round trip was about two shillings, or 
fifty cents of our currency. How shall I tell you of 
the Crystal Palace? Those who saw the New York 
institution of that name will have some idea of what 
is not only an adornment to London but a monument 
to the architect. Sir Joseph Paxton, and to the sagacity 
of Prince Albert, who having projected the great ex- 
hibition in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park, in 1851, 
warmly patronized this new and permanent institution 
at Sydenham, one of the London suburbs. Notwith- 
standing the calamity by fire which lately destroyed the 
tropical and floral part of the Palace, that which remains 
is almost beyond my powers of description. 

Imagine the extended tent on Logan Square, under 
which the brilliant Sanitary Fair was held in Philadelphia 
during the war, three years ago, and you will have some 
idea of this ingenious and dazzling contrivance. The 
main building is a parallelogram of 1,600 feet long, by 
rather more than 300 feet wide. Within this general out- 
line is a central avenue, running from end to end, and 
crossed by three transverse portions, called respectively 
the south, central, and north transepts. The central tran- 
sept is the region of music and enjoyment. Here Patti, 
the popular prima donna, sings in afternoon con- 
certs, which attract the most brilliant audiences I have 
ever seen, including the elite of the aristocracy and the 
middle classes. The cost of tickets for the concert and the 
Palace is ten shilliugs, or two dollars and fifty cents. 



The Crystal Palace at Sydenham, 87 

Standing under this prodigious glassy dome, sustained by 
what look like slender tendrils of wire, we see the vast 
Handel Orchestra on the left. Before us lie art and in- 
struction ; behind us commerce, business, and Nature in 
some of her finest forms. 

Inconceivable are the objects presented for admiration 
and wonder ! On one side appear the finest works of 
art — copies of the monuments of Heathen Egypt, Greece, 
Assyria, and Rome ; trophies from Mohammedan Spain, 
Christian Byzantium, France, and England. Some of the 
musical festivals have enlisted as many as four thousand 
instrumental and vocal performers, and on Wednesday five 
thousand children attached to the public schools attended 
in a body one of their May fairs. Among the objects of 
rare interest are copies of many monuments and effigies in 
Westminster Abbey. Here, too, are gathered for exhibi- 
tion the finest products of English manufacture. The lead- 
ing merchants and fashionable retailers have what are 
called stalls or cases, in which their choicest specimens are 
exhibited for rivalry or sale. These, with picture galleries, 
model galleries, galleries of mechanics, and theatres for 
children, make up altogether an entertainment to be found 
nowhere else in the world ; but if this is true of the in- 
terior, what shall I say of the exterior, the park and gar- 
dens ? 

The upper terrace is 1,5*70 feet in length and 48 feet 
wide, commanding a magnificent prospect of several coun- 
ties beyond. In a line with the centre transept, inter- 
secting the terrace, is the broad central walk, 660 feet wide 
by 96 feet, broken by flights of steps of the same width. 
The grass-cut lawn, relieved by beds of gay and many- 
colored flowers, with the six fountains ranged along the 
lower terrace, produce an efiect indescribably beautiful. 
The ground, on which stand the Palace, the gardens, and 
park, occupies more than 200 acres. Extending our view 
to the lower level, we get a glimpse of the lakes and the 

6 



88 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

two large fountains which lie in the hollow, and the Italian 
garden, with its ornaments and fountains, cascades and 
temples, and, beyond all, the magnificent expanse of rich 
wooded country, rich cornfields with hedge-rows intersect- 
ing them, and belted in the far-off boundary by a range of 
hills which stretches as far as the eye can see. 

A pleasing incident contributed to the charm of the 
afternoon. Standing before a miniature of the Roman 
Coliseum, I asked my companion how its proportions com- 
pared with the Capitol at Washington, when the guide 
turned round and modestly said, " I also have seen the 
Capitol at Washington ; I was in the army during the late 
war." " On what side did you serve ?" I asked, with some 
suspicion in my tone. Turning upon me a bright and 
cheerful countenance, he answered, " On the Northern 
side, sir," upon which I instinctively grasped his hand, 
feeling that I had met a brother and a friend. It was 
very satisfactory to find in this humble Englishman not 
only an entertaining guide, but an advocate of republican 
principles, a strong believer in the final triumph of freedom, 
and, what I was delighted to hear, a man who insisted that 
the great body of the English people heartily sympathized 
with the American Union and wished it success during all 
its recent terrible struggle. He had served four years in 
the army in one of the New York regiments, and showed 
me the testimonials of this service, and the photographs of 
his companions, with a pride which proved the truth of his 
statements. He had three sisters in America, but returned 
to England to support an aged mother, yet I could see 
that however much he loved his native country, his heart 
was in the far-off West, and that it would not be long be- 
fore he was found enrolled among the citizens of the 
Republic he had assisted to save. 



Westminster Abbey, 89 



XVL— WESTMINSTER ABBEY. 

THE MONUMENTAL STATUARY — THE GHEAT DEPARTED — 
LONDON AN ASYLUM FOR THE UNFORTUNATE — FOOTSTEPS 
OF THE PAST — OUR OWN GOD'S-ACRE OF BRAVE PATRIOTS 

— A nation's gratitude. 

London, May 30, 18G7. 

Westminster Abbey, the pride of every Englishman, 
is an object which every stranger in London hastens to 
behold, and regularly revisits. Founded more than a 
thousand years ago, passing time only adds to the interest 
of its ancient memorials and to the number of the precious 
monuments themselves. It is at once the burial-place of 
many of the kings, poets, princes, statesmen, and warriors 
of England, and the sanctuary of their marble effigies. 
Their mortal remains have long since perished from the 
earth ; gratitude or ostentation has sought to perpetuate 
their memories by some of the grandest works of human 
genius, but many of these have crumbled under the opera- 
tion of the slow tooth of age ; and if the name they seek 
to perpetuate has not been associated with some grand and 
noble work, it is soon and justly lost in oblivion. Nearly 
every scholar who has stood in this silent company has 
described his emotions. My first sensation after passing 
through the chapels in which the statuary is preserved, and 
after trying to realize the grandeur of these varied works 
of art, and the Gothic architecture of the exterior and in- 
terior, was more in regard to the living tides which had 
passed these fretted cloisters during the vanished centuries 
than to the pulseless and unchanging procession of the 
counterfeited dead. Yery grand indeed were the monu- 
ments to Shakspeare, Pitt, Canning, Wilberforce, and Peel, 



90 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

and the men and women who came before and after them, 
some eminent in arts, arms, and letters, and others only 
known for their titles and their vices. Yery useful to the 
student were the dates revived and the facts freshened by 
these startling pictures in stone. I dwelt rather upon 
those who had studied these renowned achievements, and 
who now, like object and artist, are themselves gathered 
into the chambers of the departed. 

It was with something of a shudder that I looked into the 
glazed e^'es of these marvellous figures, and tried to recall 
the deeds that made them famous, and the days when they 
ruled the camp, the court, the bower ; but another feeling 
controlled me as I thought of the thousands and hundreds 
of thousands who had eDJ03'ed the same privilege with m^^- 
self, and probably with far different emotions. London 
has been the mart of trade and the centre of fashion for 
centuries ; and hither, as to a common focus, men of all races 
have been attracted. The chief city of a government that 
has undergone few violent changes within the last two hun- 
dred 3'ears, London has been at once the resort and the 
refuge of the cultivated and the refined ; and when great 
wars have decimated and transformed other nations, the 
unfortunate or losing parties have hastened to this interest- 
ing capital, sure of safety if their oftences were not too 
great, and sometimes of a generous welcome. The dis- 
crowned monarch, the luckless patriot, the beautiful woman 
marked for death because she loved her country or her 
King, have alternately enjoyed the shelter and the hospi- 
tality of London. These, as well as the citizen of the 
world, who fiuds a home in everj^ land, the ambitious 
student, and the inquiring statesman, m3'riads of others, 
have made Westminster Abbey the subject, first of their 
curiosity, and then of their reflections. 

How strange the flood of memories awakened by this 
thought in the American mind ! Where we stood and sum- 
moned up the past, Lord Baltimore, who founded Mary- 



Westminster Abbey, 91 

land, William Penn, who founded Pennsylvania, even 
the Pilgrim Fathers, who founded New England, had prob- 
ably often paused and pondered. Benjamin Franklin and 
John Adams, the grandfather of the eminent citizen who 
now reflects such honor upon our country at the English 
court, have walked these historic pavements, and read 
the story of human ambition in these alabaster faces. And 
their successors and contemporaries, including most of the 
best statesmen of the recent generations, have enjoyed the 
same experience. But would it be irreverent to say that 
most of these men always felt that their country was mis- 
understood and misrepresented in England—that its as- 
serted greatness was frequently ignored, and its claim a| a 
free government set aside as presumptuous in the presence 
of the hated institution of Slavery protected by our Consti- 
tution and laws ? 

I soon answered this question to myself. As the rubi- 
cund verger carried us through these stony aisles and with 
his routine voice gave us our shilling's worth of British 
history, I sometimes asked who slept beneath the marble 
floor, and more than once he told me that the name had 
been obliterated, and, of course, the subject itself forgotten ! 
Almost involuntarily I turned to my own country, and re- 
membered that, if we had no great monumental storehouse 
in which to preserve our best beloved, we had what was 
better, in the burial-grounds of the heroes who died that 
liberty might live. In an instant my last visit to the 
sacred fields north and south of Washington city reap- 
peared to me, with all its soul-moving incidents. It was 
only a twelvemonth ago — an evening in May, full of the 
flush and perfume of an early Southern summer. How 
difierent the feeling that thrilled and filled me then from the 
cold surprise and calculating inquiry of my visit to West- 
minster Abbey ! I saw the graves of over five thousand 
of the three hundred thousand that fought and fell in the 
mighty struggle against slavery ; and if I stood in the 



g2 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

midst of the memories they awakened without tears, who 
will blame me ? There, as in this old Abbey, there were 
some whose forms had not only passed from the earth, but 
whose very names had been lost in the din of battle. What 
American who has paused between the silent streets of 
these cities of the heroic dead has not agonized over the 
inscription that recorded so many of the sleepers among 
the '' unknown V But not forgotten, like the antique dust 
of the Abbey — the dust, doubtless, of some of the man- 
hunters of the past. Thank God for it, no ! We need 
build no towering piles, hew no colossal figures, carve no 
stony wreaths, trace no hollow praises, to keep their deeds 
fr^sh and fragrant in a nation's tenacious gratitude. They 
fought in a far greater struggle than any that conferred 
fame upon the occupants of storied Westminster — in a 
struggle that saved self-government from endless defeat, 
and, by liberating one race of men, gave freedom to all 
mankind. And as I turned my footsteps from the door of 
this splendid temple, I felt that, if we could not boast of 
high art in America, and of our allegiance to a long line 
of departed kings, we had made a history in the first cen- 
tury of our manhood that would enlist and inspire the 
poet, and the painter, and the sculptor, and warm the 
hearts and nerve the arms of the people to the end of time. 



Sunday at Windsor, 93 



XVII.— SUNDAY AT WINDSOR 

THE CASTLE — THE TERRACE — ETON — SERVICE IN ST. GEORGE'S 
CHAPEL— HIGH CHURCH CEREMONIALS IN CONTRAST WITH 
SPURGEON'S TABERNACLE. 

London, June 2, 1867. 

A Sabbath in the country supplied a strong and instruc- 
tive contrast to a Sunday in the town; and to-day, the 
bright and cloudless sky of which reminded me of " home, 
sweet home," we took the Paddington train, and in less 
than an hour found ourselves at Windsor, where Queen 
Victoria lives in the summer months — where her beloved 
Prince Albert, her mother, her father, and most of her an- 
cestors are buried, and where the Prince of Wales some- 
times visits, his own country residence being in Sandring- 
ham Park, in the county of JSTorfolk. The Castle, which 
includes Yictoria's abode, is full of storied memorials, and 
has been the rural home of the English sovereigns for 
nearly eight hundred years. The view from " The Terrace" 
is magnificent. Much that you have read of is spread 
before and around you. " The Long Walk," " Frog- 
more," the tomb of the Prince Consort, the Virginia 
Water, Eton — the college where so many famous men 
have been educated — invite your footsteps and arouse 
your recollections. 

St. George's Chapel, however, was most attractive to me, 
and at the appointed hour we entered and took our seats 
among the worshippers. It is a choice specimen of Gothic 
architecture, well adapted to the celebration of the elaborate 
ostentation of the Church of England. The massive altar, 
with its gold communion plate and tall candlesticks ; the 
stalls of the Knights of the Garter, surmounted by their 
shields, banners, swords, and coats-of-arms : the cold 



94 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe^ 

marble floor, and dark roof carved into many fantastic 
forms ; the ancient windows, with their exquisite stained 
glass ; the superb organ ; the men and boys in white 
robes ; the priests and readers in black ; the scarlet 
soldiers at the door, musket in hand, and the gold-laced 
officers inside, with their dark swords, red faces, and white 
beards ; the nobility in the upraised, and the commoners in 
the low-placed seats ; the long, tiresome, and rather gro- 
tesque routine of chant and prayer, half Catholic and whole 
aristocratic ; the short and haughty sermon — were alto- 
gether novel, if not impressive, to republican eyes and ears. 
As I sat, saw, and listened, even the fact that a marble 
slab at my feet told me that underneath were buried that 
model husband and father, Henry the Eighth, and one of 
his six queens ; also George the Third and his queen ; also 
William the Fourth, and others — could not keep out the 
contrast of the recollection of my feelings as I sat in 
Spurgeon's Tabernacle, and heard his honest preaching to 
his simple-hearted congregation but one week before. And 
I am only frank when I say that it seemed to me that God 
must give a warmer welcome to the fervent Congregational- 
ist than to the precise Ritualist. It was to me the differ- 
ence between form and faith — between body and soul- 
bet ween the discipline of Laud and the devotion of Crom- 
well. The Canon of St. George's, as they called the 
clergyman who preached the brief sermon at the close of 
the protracted service, was assisted and preceded in his 
appeal to the Deity by a perfect procession of supernumer- 
aries. It was as if God had to be admonished of the 
approach of her Majesty's minister. Spurgeon did Ms 
work alone. He opened and closed without organ, choir, 
robes, or genuflexions. He spoke, not like the surpliced 
Canon, to a hundred, but to four thousand eager souls, who 
invoked God's pardon and care with spontaneous and 
electric fervor. When I returned from Windsor the con- 
trast was not weakened by continued reflection. 



American Railroad Stock, 95 



XVIII.— AMEEICAN EAILEOAD STOCK. 

AMERICAN SECURITIES IN ENGLAND — PENNSYLVANIA CENTRAL 
RAILROAD STOCK — A POPULAR INVESTMENT — EXTENSION 
OP THE LINE — ADVANTAGES TO PHILADELPHIA — UNION 
PACIFIC RAILROAD — MINERAL WEALTH TO BE DEVELOPED 
— A NEW LINE or STEAMERS FROM PHILADELPHIA TO 
LIVERPOOL. 

London, June 3, 1867. 

The resources. and prospects of the Pennsylvania Central 
Railway, and, as a natural result, of Philadelphia and our 
great State, have made a lasting impression upon foreign 
capitalists, and have completely obliterated the prejudices 
excited in this country by the unjust assaults of the P^ev. 
Sidney Smith nearly thirty years ago. It is only necessary 
to state that about one-eighth of the capital stock of the 
road is owned in Great Britain ; that six hundred thousand 
pounds sterling of the guaranteed bonds of the Philadelphia 
and Erie Road (now owned by the Pennsylvania Central) 
are held here, and also that two millions five hundred 
thousand pounds sterling of the sterling bonds of the 
Pennsylvania Central, due in 1869 and 1815, are held 
mainly in England and on the Continent, to show how that 
magnificent work is appreciated in the Old World. There 
are no American securities, excepting the Massachusetts 
bonds, that stand so high as the shares of the Pennsyl- 
vania Central, and few of the railroads of Europe have 
attained a better position in the great money-centres. The 
recent exhibits of the internal condition of that company, 
resulting alike from the investigation of the foreign share- 
holders, and the movement of Col. Page in the board of 
directors at home, followed by the voluntary and unanimous 



g6 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

endorsement of the extraordinary ability and foresight of 
John Edgar Thomson, the president, and Col. Thomas A. 
Scottj the vice-president, have directed fresh attention to 
the subject ; and if the policy thus vindicated is wisely 
and firmly pursued, the stocks of the Pennsylvania Central 
will lead even the favorite and established investments. 
That policy looks boldlj^ to uniting Philadelphia with San 
Francisco, by means of established connections with the 
IJnion Pacific Railway, and with Liverpool by means of a, 
line of steamships that will accommodate the immense 
amount of produce now brought to our wharves, and which, 
for want of these facilities, is shipped by the Camden and 
Amboy Railroad to ISTew York. 

The Pennsylvania Railroad Company was regarded by 
its early friends and projectors in the light of a great local 
enterprise. Few, beyond its chief engineer and present 
executive, Mr. Thomson, comprehended that, properly 
conducted, it had the capacity to become a work of national 
importance. And while he has seldom announced the 
steps to be taken till the public mind was ready and could 
comprehend them, he has had this cardinal idea always in 
view. In several instances, in furtherance of this policy, 
he has been unable or unwilling to invite the necessary 
support for what might not have been so apparent to 
others; and therefore, in such cases, he has taken a 
part and shouldered responsibility that he asked of no 
one else. The completion of the Pittsburg and Fort 
Wayne road between Plymouth and Chicago, in 185T to 
1859, is a memorable example. The Pennsylvania Central 
had embarked over a million of dollars in this avenue to 
the granary of the world. Not choosing to ask them to go 
any farther, Mr. Thomson pledged his own credit and 
private fortune for the balance needed to finish it. The 
result was all that was claimed, and the company not only 
afterwards realized their original investment, with about 
fifty per cent, profit, but accomplished to its fullest extent 



American Railroad Stock. 



91 



the grand aim of securing for the road the shortest and 
best avenue between the grain regions and the seaboard — 
thus, in effect, extending the main line of the road to 
Chicago, with but a small part of the necessary outlay. 
This is only one of several like cases, all tending to con- 
solidate and push forward the power and influence of the 
road to distant points. All this is now a matter of 
history. 

Mr. Thomson^s line of policy has been completely suc- 
cessful, and at the same time a profit has been realized on 
the aggregate of all similar outlays. It is well to consider 
the actual results thus attained, because, compared with 
the experience of most other great enterprises undertaken 
to aid outside connections, whether in Europe or Api erica, 
this success is an exception, and indicates a sound judg- 
ment and far-seeing sagacity in conception and execution. 
The city of Philadelphia, in her corporate capacity, sub- 
scribed largely to the Pennsylvania road ; of course, more 
to insure the prosperity of the city as a port than for the 
rich return in dividends which she has since received. 
These were of secondary importance, and not relied on as 
certain. Her merchants have always contended that the 
object of this municipal investment could not be con- 
summated till the link in the chain of connection with 
Europe was added by a line of steamers. And they very 
properly urge that not only should Philadelphia receive 
the benefit of the carrying trade brought to her port by 
her own outlays — which is now necessarily handed over to 
a rival city — but that a large amount of goods now entered 
at New York and Baltimore would be sent to her, because 
of her superior facilities of transmission West, as well as 
of the enormous delay and expense attending the entry of 
goods at the New York custom-house — a fact at once too 
notorious and alarming to be denied. But while the 
Pennsylvania Central have listened to these arguments for 
a line of steamers, and sometimes with seeming indifference, 



98 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

they have never lost sight of the tremendous importance 
of the subject. They have waited only to accomplish it 
in such way as would be most consistent with their corpo- 
rate powers, and under circumstances most certain to 
insure permanent success. In 1862, had the Judiciary 
sustained the appropriation of future excess dividends by 
the Councils, at the request of the company, the steam line 
would now be afloat. The spirit of opposition shown in 
this instance was a caution to the company to move only 
in strict accordance with unquestioned powers ; but since 
then the policy of Mr. Thomson has continued its devel- 
opment. 

By proving the necessity of extending the line, the com- 
pany have made the great work more certainly profitable 
by rapid additions to their traffic. The Eastern division 
of the Union Pacific road has become substantially the 
property of those controlling this policy, and wholly in the 
interest of the main line of the Pennsylvania Central. 
That this road and its branches will soon assume the pro- 
portions of a great overland route of the world, is now 
both seen and felt here as it is at home. With this new 
extension of its influence and increase of force the com- 
pany will foster as a necessity a line of steamshijps to 
Liverpool. By reference to the map you will see that not 
only for the mere direct overland carrying trade of Europe 
does this new avenue come into play, but by aid of a di- 
rect line of steamers the great body of emigration may be 
ticketed direct, via, the Pennsylvania Central system, from 
ports in Europe, and landed without loss or risk on the rich 
lands given to the Pacific roads, and traffic and business to 
and from the country to be peopled insured, to the certain 
prosperity of the road, and to the permanent enhancement of 
the power and wealth of our country, which only wants will- 
ing hands and strong arms to develop her greatness. It is 
believed that the mineral wealth alone, to be developed on 
the line of the Pacific Railway, will in a few years be sufll- 



American Railroad Stock, 99 

cient to pay off our national debt. Be that as it may, the 
certain increase of a hardy population, secured by the 
opening up of such a line to her rich and at present in- 
accessible lands, will develop this ability in a single gener- 
ation without the metals which are certainly there. 

It is sufficient to add that the additional link of a line of 
steamers with Philadelphia is not only now become more 
than ever a necessity, but that the Pennsylvania Railroad 
Company will, at their own instance, shortly inaugurate 
such an enterprise, and its success may be regarded as 
certain, with the same carefully considered and matured 
plans as have hitherto managed her undertakings. The 
presence in London of an able and persevering advocate of 
this enlarged policy like Mr. Gilead A. Smith, whose rooms 
are the headquarters of Americans from all sections, has 
done much to awaken the lively interest of foreign capital- 
ists in the projects and prospects of the Pennsylvania 
Central, with its rapidly advancing connections to the 
Pacific on the one side, and its determined purpose of 
establishing a magnificent line of steamers from Philadel- 
phia to Liverpool on the other. The great fact that the 
best route across the continent of North America is held and 
owned or controlled by the Pennsylvania Central and its 
tributaries and associates, will compel the organization of 
that line of steamers at an early day. 



100 Colonel Forney s Letters from Euro^pe, 



XIX.— LOW WAGES AND LITTLE 
EDUCATION. 

JUSTICE or ENGLISH " STRIKES " — LABOR UNDERPAID — STAR- 
VATION — EDUCATION SCANTY AND INDIFFERENT — MR. FRA- 
ZER'S report ON AMERICAN SCHOOLS — SUPERIORITY OP 
OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. 

London, June 5, 1867. 

]^o unprejudiced man can examine the Labor question 
in Great Britain without reaching the firm conviction that 
there is a large amount of justice in the " strikes " of the 
workingmen of this kingdom. The first thing that ex- 
cited my surprise was the painfully low wages of this 
powerful, and, in my own country, controlling class ; and 
additional observation has only served to change this sur- 
prise into sorrow. If it were true, as I have heard it 
boldly contended by many Englishmen, who concede that 
labor is miserably paid in Great Britain, that the necessa- 
ries of life are very much lower than with us in America, 
the case would be different. But unhappily there is no 
such countervailing evidence. A shoemaker or a tailor 
does not earn, on an average, more than thirty-six shil- 
lings a week — less than ten doUars — and first-class hands 
must work very steadily if they can earn as much as 
twenty dollars a week. An experienced short-hand or 
phonographic amanuensis, connected with a leading rail- 
road company, who has done some work for me, after 
hours, gets one hundred pounds a year, or about seven 
hundred dollars a year of our currency, for constant toil. 
A London policeman is paid at the rate of about six hun- 
dred dollars a year ; and one pound, or about six dollars 
and a half a week, is the wages of a road conductor or 



Low Wages and Little Education, loi 

" guide." A first-class compositor in the office of Tlie 
Times can make four pounds a week, but there are only 
about four who earn such wages fn that establishment. 
Now, when you are told that beef in England is twenty-two 
cents a pound, butter thirty cents, and other articles of 
food in proportion, you may estimate how much these 
classes have left at the end of a year. My short-hand re- 
porter, who is a married man, and evidently a sober and in- 
telligent one, doubtless tells the story for most of the bet- 
ter sort of work-people, when he says that he must borrow 
money to pay his debts at the close of every quarter. 
High rents for rooms and small tenements are universally 
admitted and deplored. A sad illustration of these facts is 
the following, taken from the London Star of this very day : 

A shocking case of death from destitution was brought to 
light on Tuesday at Homerton. Caroline Eaymond was the wife 
of a shoemaker named James Eaymond, The Eaymond family 
consisted of the father and mother, and four children ; one of the 
latter is a cripple. The average weekly earnings of the head of 
the family was 15s., and out of that 2s. 6d. went for rent. It was 
stated that during the whole of last winter all the family had to do 
without furniture or bedding. The other day the attention of the 
parochial authorities was called to the fact that the poor woman 
was dying. After some official delay the place was visited, a sick- 
ening scene of filth and wretchedness was witnessed. Death soon 
after relieved the unfortunate woman of her sufferings. A cor- 
oner's jury came to the conclusion that death was produced by 
natural causes, accelerated by the surrounding circumstances, and 
recommended that the Board of Guardians' attention should be 
drawn to their visiting orders. 

The condition of the laboring classes in the factories and 
mines, and in the agricultural districts, is far worse. To 
insufficient compensation are frequently added the horrors 
resulting from compelled ignorance and defective schools. 
I lately conversed with a well-informed agricultural " hand" 
on one of the immense estates belonging to the nobility. 
He got eleven shillings a week, and out of that supported 



I02 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

his wife and several children, and paid a shilling a week 
for his little hut, and an additional sum to his Grace for 
a small patch of grouifc on which he raised his little vege- 
tables. As he said himself, '' this is not living but linger- 
ing." It is unnecessary to institute a comparison between 
these facts and the compensation and general condition of 
skilled and mere manual labor in the United States. This 
will be instantly suggested to the reflecting reader. But 
who that carefully considers them will deny that there is 
great justice in the very general complaints among the 
producing classes of this kingdom ? The philanthropist 
does not treat these heartrending protests with contempt. 
He recognizes and examines them. He sees that until 
they are answered or redressed there can be no real peace 
or genuine prosperity. That the contrast presented by 
the peculiar advantages of the industrial interests in our 
country, not only in point of wages, but in respect of politi- 
cal blessings, and cheap and thorough public schools, 
should have become keenly familiar through the medium 
of sufl'erings so acute and exceptionless, is only natural. 

Wherever I go I am overwhelmed with inquiries about 
America ; and these are asked not only by thoughtful 
statesmen, but by the people of every grade. One fine 
young fellow listened to my plain statement of the com- 
forts enjoyed by the men employed on the Press and 
Chronicle, and to my description of the High School of 
Philadelphia, and of the distinguished posts filled by the 
graduates of that and similar popular institutions of the 
United States, including, of course, the splendid free 
schools of New England, exclaimed, *'I shall never be 
satisfied till I can earn my passage to America." The ex- 
ample of America can therefore no longer be depreciated 
or derided in England. 

A notable proof of this assertion was presented a few 
days ago in the report of the Rev. James Frazer, who was ap- 
pointed by "the Schools' Inquiry Commission" to inspect the 



Low Wages and Little Education, 103 

schools of America and Canada. It is a very remarkable 
paper. Mr. Frazer does not conceal Ms prepossession in 
favor of the religious element in popular education as 
against purely secular instruction, nor does he deny his prej- 
udice against the American system. He landed in the United 
States in the midst of our great war. Advised to take Can- 
ada first, and to v/ait for more peaceful times to inspect our 
institutions, he preferred to see how the civil conflict would 
affect our great schools. He arrived immediately after the 
assassination of President Lincolii, and naturally felt appre- 
hensive that the moment was inopportune for the special 
work in which he was engaged. But great was his surprise 
to find that "the ordinary march of life was interrupted in 
the Northern States by the loss of their Chief Magistrate 
hardly for an hour." In the Border States and in Penn- 
sylvania — where three thousand teachers had enlisted for 
active service — the war proved somewhat detrimental to 
the prosperity of the schools ; but even in these States the 
effect of it was not to close the schools, but to place the 
management of them in the hands of women. His deliber- 
ate, unprejudiced, and noble testimony is, that " never be- 
fore were realized so strongly the national blessing of 
education and the necessity for democratic institutions 
resting for a foundation upon the intelligence and public 
spirit of the people. Never before," he continues, ''were 
more liberal appropriations voted by the townships for the 
support of schools ; never before were private benefactions 
more frequent or munificent ; never before was there dis- 
played a more universal determination to uphold in all its 
integrity, and if possible to carry onward to a still higher 
degree of efficiency, the education of the people." When 
I add that this report has been before both Houses of Par- 
liament, "&?/ Order of her Majesty, ^^ you will perceive that 
education in America has not only awakened the enthusi- 
asm of the English people, but has at last secured the at- 
tention of the sovereign and her consers^ative ministers. 



104 Colonel Forney's Letters from Europe. 



XX.— VISIT TO SHAKSPEAKE'S GRAVE. 

MR. E. E. FLOWER, A FRIEND OF AMERICA — THE OLD HOUSE 
AND THE NEW PLACE — THE POET'S PREDICTION ON CIVIL 
WAR — SHAKSPEARIAN RELICS — HIS TROTH-RING — NOBILITY 

OF SOUL AND NOBILITY OF TITLE — BLENHEIM PALACE 

WARWICK CASTLE AND KENILWORTH— CHATSWORTH — HAD- 
DON HILL — NEWSTEAD ABBEY. 

Stratfokd-on-Ayon, June 6, 1867. 

A day to be long remembered finds me writing these 
lines near the home and grave of Shakspeare. Leaving 
Leamington, a watering-place famous for its medical springs 
and one of the loveliest inland towns in Europe, early in 
the morning, we reached Stratford- on- A von, ten miles dis- 
tant, in a little more than an hour, after a ride made 
doubly interesting by the thronging associations of the 
place, and the peculiar beauty of that rarity in England, a 
day of almost uninterrupted sunshine. As we bowled 
along the level and hedge-lined road, the air redolent with 
the breath of the hawthorn, the sweet-briar, and the labur- 
num, and the arching trees filled with the singing birds of 
England, the driver pointed out a handsome residence on 
the hill overlooking the town, and said, " the gentleman 
who lives there is a strong friend of America.-' Asking, 
his name, I immediately recollected that I bore a warm 
letter to him from a distinguished friend, and concluding 
to present it, the horses' heads were turned up the smooth 
avenue, and in a few seconds Mr. E. F. Flower, the host 
himself, gave me a cordial welcome. It was cheering to 
stand under his hospitable roof-tree, and hear him talk of 
our beloved country, and of her Providential rescue from 



Visit to Shakspeare s Grave, 105 

treason. Mr. Elower is known all over England as one of 
the earliest champions of our cause. Long ago, before 
Illinois was a State, he lived in the Northwest, and with 
other brave spirits aided to preserve that great territory 
from the pestilence of Slavery. It was in that stern school 
he gathered the experience which kept him in the right 
path when he returned to live in his native country, and 
enabled him to work for the assured victory of the Union 
side when the traitors flew to arms. His speeches and 
writings contributed immensely to correct the falsehoods 
of the rebel emissaries, and are now proudly quoted by his 
friends and himself as so many fulfilled prophecies. While 
the prejudiced and willingly-deluded aristocracy around 
him believed these emissaries, and invested their money in 
Confederate bonds, Mr. Flower bought Five-Twenties ; and 
thus, as the former find their hopes and their money 
turned to ashes, his expectations, like his interest, are 
coined into gold. We spoke of his intimate friend Charles 
Sumner ; of the martyred Lincoln, whose portrait hung in 
his study ; of Thaddeus Stevens ; of the act of reconstruc- 
tion ; of the magical change in the feelings of the British 
Tories, until I felt that I had known my new friend for 
many years. 

To make the incident more harmonious with our visit, 
Mr. Flower had given much attention to the study of 
Shakspeare. Directly before us, almost at our feet, in a 
valley that seems to be set, like a glorious picture, in a 
framework of magnificent scenery, as if to assist in per- 
petuating the mighty name that would alone immortalize 
it, were the home and the grave of Shakspeare. He 
pointed out the sacred spots, and proposed to act as our 
guide. As Mr. Flower was mayor of the borough of Strat- 
ford-on-Avon in 1864, when the tercentenary of the birth of 
Shakspeare was celebrated — an event that lasted for nearly 
ten days, and was assisted by the leading intellects of many 
lands — we gratefully accepted his offer. A splendid photo- 



io6 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

graph of that historic coinniomorntion hung in his parlor; 
iind I could not help rocolloctiug, as in his intelligent 
society we passed over the consecrated ground, how 
freshly the illustrious bard lives in the menior}^ of men 
after the lapse of more than three hundred j'ears. All 
around us were the evidences that he lived and AA'as beloved 
in this beautiful vale ; mute yet overwhelming rebukes as 
the}'- were of the attempts to profane his memory by in- 
validating his title to the glorious works of his inspired 
intellect. Under the auspices of Air. Hunt, who resides in 
the borough, and whose family held the original portrait 
of Sliakspeare for more than a century and then deposited 
it in the house in which the poet was born, aided by Mr. 
Flower and other eminent men, this house and the grounds 
adjoining were purchased several years ago, and rearranged 
as they were during his lifetime, from the original deed, 
still extant, and now to be seen in one of the rooms. The 
garden around the old house, much of it as it was when he 
was a scbool-boy, and after he grew to man's estate and was 
carried to his last abode, has been planted with the trees 
and fiowers so constantly referred to in his plays and 
poems ; and as I passed along the walks I thought of poor 
Ophelia and her poesy ; of Friar Laurence, and the immor- 
tal lines with which he addresses the morning as he opens 
the window of his cloister ; of the melancholy Jacques in 
the wood ; and of the thousand rural odors and flowers and 
trees that have made Shakspeare's works one conservatory 
of the enduring bays and perfumes and garlands of genius. 
A not inappropriate episode marked our examination of the 
inner chambers of the house itself, when one of our com- 
pany, at my request (Daniel Dougherty, Esq., of Philadel- 
phia), recited in his own unequalled st3de the following 
noble passage from " Richard II.," being the prophecy of 
the Bishop of Carlisle of the result of the threatened civil 
war between the Houses of York and Lancaster, who took 
theii* emblems from the English gardens, and fought, bled, 



Visit to Shakspeares Grave, 107 

and perished under hostile roses, red and white. The same 
passage was quoted by Mr. Dougherty more than ten years 
ago, in a groat speech which he made in Independence 
Square in support of James Buchanan's election to the 
Presidency. lie little thought then that what he quoted 
would bo so soon realized ; nor yet, that when war came, it 
would rid the earth not only of the hated curse of slavery, 
but would convert him and thousands more into conscien- 
tious Abolitionists. The effect upon the Americans and 
English who heard him will not soon be forgotten : 

Let mc prophesy : 
The blood of English shall manure the ground, 
And future aj^es groan for this foul act. 
Peace shall go sleep with Turks and infidels, 
And in this seat of peace tumultuous wars 
Shall kin with kin and kind with kind confound. 
Disorder, horror, fear, and mutiny 
Shall here inhabit, and this land be called 
The field of Golgotha and dead men's skulls. 
Oh ! if you raise this house against this house, 
It will the woefullest division prove 
That ever fell upon this cursed earth. 
Prevent, resist, let it not be so. 
Lest child's child's children cry against you, " Woe I" 

The whole vicinage is instinct with ShakspeaTe. The 
church in which he was buried two days after his death, 
directly under the lofty tablets which record the departed 
members of the still ruling families of the neighborhood, 
proves that his fame was acknowledged at his own home ; 
and the original deed to his father, showing that he resided 
in the house called " The Birth-place ;" the celebrated letter 
from Ilichard Quiney to Sbakspeare, in 1.598, asking for a 
loan of thirty pounds, the only letter to Sbakspeare known 
to exist ; Shakspeare's gold signet ring, with the initials 
"W. S.," and a true-lover's knot between ; specimens of 
the original copy of the play, " The Merry Wives of Wind- 



io8 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

sor," with mai\y more equally important evidences, included 
in the architecture of the town and neighborhood ; the old 
title-deeds of the family ; the likenesses in possession of 
the nobilit}^ ; even the signs of the shops and taverns — the 
whole establishing the fiill identity of the illustrious dead, 
and reviviug all the enthusiasm of the student. It would 
have been criminal incredulity, not to saj^ ingratitude, to 
doubt in such a presence ; and as I stood before his grave- 
stone, and read his own epitaph, written b}^ himself, cut in 
deep letters into the solid granite — 

Good friend, for Jesus sake, forbear 
To dig the dust inclosed here ; 
Blest be the man that spares these stones, 
And curst be he that moves my bones — 

and remembered how, in all his writings, he seemed to 
shrink from violations of the dead, I seemed almost to 
stand in his living presence. Hardly less impressive was 
the heart-warm tribute of '' rare Ben Jonson" on the frontis- 
piece of the first printed edition of . Shakspeare's plays, 
direct!}^ under his excellent portrait, still supposed to be 
his best. There was a startling vitality and fidelity in this 
witness ; 

This figure, that thou here seest put, 
It was for gentle Shakspeare cut ; 
"Wherein the graver had a strife 
With nature to outdo the life. 
Oh ! could he but have drawn his wit 
As well in brass as he hath hit 
His face, the print would then surpass 
All that was ever writ in brass ; 
But since he cannot, reader, look 
Not on his picture, but his book. 

Yet, if all mortal testimony were really lost, Shak- 
speare could not be forgotten. The crumbling walls of the 
old house in which are preserved the few proofs of his 



Visit to Shakspeares Grave, 109 

career presage their speedy disappearance from the face 
of the earth ; but the immortality of the poet is secured in 
the imperishable gratitifde of his race. 

Within a few days I have visited the seats of the sur- 
rounding nobility, for Stratford-on-Avon is literally filled 
with the stately castles of the ancient families. What an 
unwritten yet unforgotten poem it is, the humble grave of 
Shaksjjeare in the centre of these ostentatious palaces ! 
The unpretending poet, safe in his everlasting fame, and 
the living peer, spending his millions to keep his dead 
ancestors from oblivion. Within a short ride by rail is 
"Blenheim," the gorgeous estate of the Duke of Marl- 
borough, well described as "an earthly paradise." It was 
presented by the British nation, at the suggestion of 
Queen Anne, or her ministers, to the Great Duke after his 
glorious victory at Blenheim, and Parliament voted two 
millions five hundred thousand dollars for its adornment. 
The opulence that marked the original gift has been imi- 
tated by the profusion of the succeeding outlays to maintain 
its grandeur. A park of twenty-seven hundred acres filled 
with flocks of sheep and herds of deer — an artificial lake 
covering over two hundred acres — plants and flowers from 
every quarter of the known world — walks, waterfalls, and 
fountains — endless statuary — tapestries and paintings 
nearly .two hundred years old, including ancient master- 
pieces of Rubens and Titian — a library two hundred feet 
long containing nearly 18,000 volumes, the whole of these 
luxuries included in a building the front of which is 350 
feet in length — all to do honor to a successful general, who, 
notwithstanding his victories, is denounced by Macaulay 
as a corrupt, faithless, and dangerous courtier ! And all 
this vast expanse of soil and these priceless luxuries are 
left for nine months of the year to the care of a few 
servants, because the present owner cannot bear the cost 
of living here, while hundreds and thousands of God's 
creatures are living and almost starving at his very gates ! 



no Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

You thus can have an idea of what is called the terri- 
torial aristocracy of England. 

Eight miles from Shakspeare's grave is the stately castle 
of the Earl of Warwick, where, though the grounds are not 
so extensive as those of "Blenheim/' the inner objects are 
scarcely less costly. Here, indeed, the Muse of History 
can recall the past and forecast the future ; but the con- 
trast between the enduring renown of a great genius like 
Shakspeare and the fleeting fame of those who lived only 
upon their prince's favors remains the same. " Kenilworth" 
is in the same locality. I wandered among its moss- 
covered ruins — all unroofed and deserted as they are — and 
traced the lines of the huge structure which three hundred 
years ago re-echoed to the revelry of the royal courtiers 
and their retainers, and re-read in the fascinating pages of 
Sir Walter Scott the bitter rivalries of Sussex and Lei- 
cester, the sad fate of Amy Robsart, the splendid progress 
of Queen Elizabeth from London, as described by the 
Wizard of the North; and I fancied the crowds that 
thronged the roads and filled the broad demesne around 
the residence of the handsome favorite. 

Not far ofi'is " Chatsworth," the estate of the Duke of 
Devonshire, far more expensive though more modern than 
'' Blenheim." Here I found a park of two thousand acres 
and over six thousand deer ; a palace of quadrangular 
form, with an open court in the middle, in the centre of 
which is a splendid fountain. It is impossible, even if it 
were any part of my purpose, to describe the works of art 
and the money spent to adorn an establishment occupied 
only exceptionally by its titled owner. The gardens and 
conservatory are the gems. They were planned and laid 
out by Sir Joseph Paxton, who was formerly a common 
gardener of the Duke's, and whose salary was larger than 
that of the President of the United States. Close at hand 
is '' Haddon Hall," another old castle, with large grounds, 
and in the same circle is *"' Newstead Abbey," once the family 



Visit to Shakspeares Grave. iii 

property and residence of Lord Byron, the poet, but sold 
b}^ Mm to Ms friend and school-fellow, the late Colonel 
Wildman, after whose death it was purchased by Mr. Webb, 
the warm friend of Dr. Livingston, the African explorer, by 
whom it is now occupied. But among all the splendors of 
these gorgeous habitations and almost imperial estates, I 
could not forget how much was wasted and lost that ought 
to be distributed among the people, and how securely and 
easily the fame of Shakspeare was preserved anjidst the ex- 
pensive contrivances of the aristocracy to keep their empty 
names alive. 

When we came to the church where Shakspeare lies 
buried, we found a meeting of the clergy and vestrymen of 
the county just adjourning. The Archdeacon had concluded 
a very able and decided protest against the ritualist ten- 
dencies in the Church of England, and had warned all con- 
cerned that the movement was dangerous in the extreme. 
It was interesting to notice how differently it affected dif- 
ferent parties. The clergy were divided in regard to it, 
but the vestrymen sustained it almost in a body. The 
High Church here is the obedient echo and faithful reflec- 
tor of the aristocratic philosophy, and its antagonists are 
the representatives, no matter how they may deny it, of 
the progressive sentiment. As the one tends irresistibly 
to injustice, the other as surely leads to liberty. And so 
it is that the age that reveres Shakspeare most fervently 
is gradually cutting loose from all superstitions and forms. 
At last even Oxford will not hesitate to say that the most 
learned must become the most liberal, and that the more 
we know the less we shall feel disposed to assert our 
superiority, or to assist weaker men than ourselves in 
tyrannizing over the minds of others. 



112 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 



XXI.— FEEE TRADE AND PEOTECTION. 

FREE ^ADE THE MODERN ENGLISH PLATFORM — ELIHTJ BUR- 
RITT FAVORS IT — ENGLAND SLOWLY UNLEARNED PROTECTION 
. — BOUNTY TO THE CUNARD STEAMERS — CIRCUMSTANCES 
ALTER CASES. 

London, June 7, 1867. 

The English mind seems to be set almost unanimously 
in favor of free trade. However parties may differ on other 
subjects, they concur in recommending it as the grand 
panacea to other nations. Ever since Sir Robert Peel aban- 
doned his protective policy, free trade has become a sort 
of general English platform upon which everybody is ex- 
pected to stand. The United States, perhaps the best 
market for their manufactures, are loudly called upon to 
imitate the British example and to cease discriminating in 
favor of domestic industry. Mr. Elihu Burritt, ''the 
learned New England Blacksmith," who is American con- 
sul at one of the great manufacturing centres in England, 
in a recent letter has promised speedy acquiescence in this 
demand Whatever his lights ma}^ be, nothing that I have 
seen during my stay in this country would induce me to 
recommend free trade to so j^oung a people as the Ameri- 
cans. Certainly there is little m the condition of the 
working masses here to inspire the hope that my own 
countrjrmen may be similarly situated. Few can honestly 
believe that if these masses were not poorly paid, and left 
in almost hopeless ignorance, what is called free trade would 
long since have been abandoned in England. The Ameri- 
can Government will hardly be a hundred j^ears old on the 
4th of July, 18t6. It took England more than a thousand 
j^ears to unlearn "protection," and even now her preten- 



Free Trade and Protection, 113 

sions to ftee trade are strangely at variance with lier 
practice. 

In conversing with, a leading Liberal a few days ago, 
who, full of enthusiasm for our example in abolishing 
slavery and in completely enfranchising the colored people, 
was also full of anxiety that we should incorporate free 
trade into the republican creed, I directed his attention to 
the orders of the British Government, at the beginning of 
the century, prohibiting any of the improvements for the 
manufacture of cotton fabrics from being sent to the United 
States ; and when he said that that was a long time ago, 
and that we could afford to take the lead in teaching other 
nations political economy, I asked him what he thought of 
the tremendous bounty paid to the Cunard line of steamers 
between Liverpool and Boston and New York, simply for 
the purpose of preventing free trade by other vessels ? He 
was silent. No better comment could be made upon this 
loud outcry for free trade than the fact that the very gov- 
ernment that denounces the United States for not opening 
their ports to the fabrics of the pauper labor of Europe, 
paid nearly one million of dollars every year to the Cunard 
line of steamships chiefly to prevent American competition. 
Nor was this subsidy withheld during the war, when our 
whole mercantile marine was withdrawn, either by the 
needs of the Government itself, or because of the ravages 
of the rebel corsairs, and the carrying trade entirely mo- 
nopolized by foreign and chiefly English ships. Nor do I 
believe it will be withdrawn now, simply because there is a 
sure prospect of a vigorous rivalry by the organization of 
other lines of steamers between other Atlantic cities in our 
country and the French, German, and English ports. So 
long as this bounty to prevent a fair competition is paid, 
our English friends should cease their complaints because 
Young America prefers to protect her home-labor. 

If the British statesmen had our Southern problem to 
solve, they would be sure to encourage manufactures in 



114 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

every cotton, sugar, tobacco, and rice State. They would 
discard the wicked folly of exporting the raw material to 
foreign countries, only that manufactured articles might be 
returned to clothe a servile population and keep that popu- 
lation servile. At the end of a thousand years, they might 
adopt, as now, a partial free trade, taking care, even then, 
to prevent any rivalry that might affect a single one of 
their interests. But this problem is our own, and we must 
solve it according to the rules of common-sense. If free trade 
had been the law in the United States before the rebellion, 
the condition in which that cruel revolt found, and in which 
its foi^tunate overthrow left the South, would compel Con- 
gress to legislate for the establishment and protection of 
domestic manufactures in that desolate and impoverished 
quarter. 



XXII.— UNIVEESITY OF OXFOED. 

ANTIQUITY OF OXFORD — RICH IN LESSONS TO THE MIND 

" TOM brown's school- days" — PROFESSOR GOLD WIN SMITH 
— HIS CHARACTER OF CROMWELL — THE BODLEIAN LIBRARY. 

Oxford, June 8, 1867. 

This ancient cluster of English colleges and the seat of 
learning from the time of the magnificent foundation of 
Christ Church in 1525, by the opulent and sagacious 
Cardinal Wolsey, before he lost the favor of Henry YIII., 
is probably the most interesting object in Great Britain, 
after the home and grave of Shakspeare. For here you 
have the living as well as the dead. In the other old places 
you commune with the past alone, and your heart grows 
cold and sad with gazing upon the stony eflSgies of de- 
parted kings and courtiers. At Oxford you read the 



University of Oxford:^ 115 

ecclesiastical experience of England for nearly a thousand 
years ; there are records, if not relics, of the foundation 
of the Monastery of St. Frideswide, A. D. UO ; and you 
may anticipate, from the present signs of the times, a 
future equally prolonged and far more interesting. At 
Westminster Abbey you commune with the dead alone ; 
but as you loiter through the Oxford aisles and chapels, 
you commune with the quick as well as the dead. The 
progress of revolution in other days is marked on these 
crumbling walls and varied styles of art and architecture, 
and the progress of revolution in coming times is almost 
audibly foretold in the new edifices. Here we realize the 
grandeur of the Catholic Church when the monastery was 
not only the refuge from misfortune but the repository of 
learning, and here we confess to the sequestration of those 
large estates by the conquerors of another faith. The 
ardent Catholic gazes upon these splendid monuments with 
mingled pride and pain, and not less so as he agonizes over 
the fact that the most of this wealth belonged to his 
Church in bygone eras, and is now enjoyed by a denomi- 
nation which chiefly contributes to the oppression of 
Ireland, where the religion of the overwhelming majority 
of the people is forced chiefly to support that of the British 
minority—part of the same power which deprived the 
Catholic Church of its most precious ecclesiastic memorials. 
But Oxford is fall of such lessons. The student here finds 
rich material for reflection. The seat of costly and 
thorough learning, it is also the seat of intellectual aris- 
tocracy/, one of the great schools where the rulers of 
England enjoy the education of books before they reap 
the harsher harvest of the education of the world. And 
many great minds have been polislied by the stern lapi- 
daries who preside over this great establishment. 

Two members of Parliament are chosen by the electors, 
doctors and masters of arts, belonging to the University, 
and two by the city of Oxford — the former, Tories of the 



1 1 6 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

strongest type ; the latter, Liberals almost of the Bright 
school. But many of the boldest republicans have passed 
through the TJuiversity with the highest honors. " Tom 
Brown's School-Days,'- the great book wiitten by Thomas 
Hughes, the present earnest Liberal member from Lambeth, 
came back to me with all that keen wit and strong sense 
which have made it a classic in ever^- intelligent American 
family, as I passed through Oriel College, where he gradu- 
ated with much distinction. 

The recollection of Goldwin Smith, an Oxford scholar 
of unchallenged eminence, and recent Regius Professor of 
Modern History in the University, gave the whole place 
additional interest, because of his surpassing championship 
of my country. He had just resigned the chair which he 
had filled with such unmatched capacity ; but his " Lectures 
on the Study of History " will stand to his honor for ever 
more. I tried to ascertain the cause of his resignation. 
Probably his deep and fervent love of liberty had some- 
thing to do with it, for never were high attainments, 
siDotless piety, and profound research so completely enlisted 
in an}' cause as in his case. The lectures referred to are 
models of graceful eloquence, severe logic, and exhaustive 
learning ; and as I peruse them, with palpitating pride in 
the masterly dialecticism. I wonder how his aristocratic 
audience must have received them. His philosophy is the 
genuLue Christian democracy. He has full faith in man, a 
hearty distrust of mere titles, a noble scorn of the bigot, 
an earnest sympathy with labor, and he demands that the 
gentry and the nobility owe it to the people fully and 
conscientiously to equip themselves for the grave duties 
laid upon them by the accidents of bii"th and fortune. It 
was refreshing to picture this calm and fearless thinker 
talking these wholesome truths to reluctant ears. He 
told his titled and aristocratic hearers that Oxford to-day 
is not the Oxford of the past. There is something start- 



University of Oxford, 117 

ling in the thought that he employed these glorious words 
before the sons of the English nobility : 

Cromwell's name is always in the mouths of those who despise 
or hate high education; who call, in every public emergency, for 
native energy and rude common-sense — for no subtle and fastidi- 
ous philosophers, but strong practical men. They seem to think 
that he really was a brewer of Huntingdon, who left his low call- 
ing in a fit of fanatical enthusiasm, to lead a great cause (great, 
whether it were the right cause or the wrong), in camp and coun- 
cil, to win Dunbar against a General who had foiled Wallenstein, 
fascinate the imagination of Milton, and by his administration at 
home and abroad to raise England, in five short years and on the 
morrow of a bloody civil war, to a height of greatness to which she 
still looks back with a proud and wistful eye. Cromwell, to use 
his own words, "■ was by birth a gentleman, living neither in any 
considerable height, nor yet in obscurity." He was educated, 
suitably to his birth, at a good classical school ; he was at Cam- 
bridge ; he read law ; but what was much more than this, he, who 
is supposed to have owed his power to ignorance and narrowness 
of mind, had brooded almost to madness over the deepest ques- 
tions of religion and politics ; and as a kinsman of Hampden, and 
an active member of Hampden's party, had held in his time all 
converse on those questions with the profoundest and keenest in- 
tellects of that unrivalled age. And therefore his ambition, if it 
was treasonable, was not low ; therefore he bore himself always, 
not as one who gambled for a stake, but as one who struggled for 
a cause ; therefore the great soldier loved the glory of peace 
above the glory of war, and the moment he could do so sheathed 
his victorious sword ; therefore, if he was driven to govern by 
force, he was driven to it with reluctance, and only after long 
striving to govern by noble means. Therefore he kept a heart 
above tinsel, and, at a height which had turned the head of Caesar, 
remained always master of himself; therefore he loved and called 
to his council-board high" and cultivated intellect, and employed it 
to serve the interests of the State, without too anxiously inquiring 
how it would serve his own. Therefore he felt the worth of the 
universities, saved them from the storm which laid throne and 
altar in the dust, and earnestly endeavored to give them their due 
place and influence as seminaries of statesmen. 



1 1 8 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

We have all one work. The professor is henceforth the col- 
league of the tutor in the duties of University Education. What 
he was in the Middle Ages is an antiquarian question. It is clear 
that since that time his position and duties have greatly changed. 
The modern press is the mediieval professor, and it is absurd to 
think that in these days of universal mental activity and universal 
publication men can be elected or appointed by convocation or by 
the Crown to head the march of thought, and give the world new 
truth. Oxford herself is no longer what a University was in the 
Middle Ages. No more, as in that most romantic epoch of the his- 
tory of intellect, will the way-worn student, who had perhaps 
begged his way from the cold shades of feudalism to this solitary 
point of intellectual light, look down upon the city of Oakham and 
Eoger Bacon as the simple emporium of all knowledge— the single 
gate to all the paths of ambition, with the passionate reverence of 
the pilgrim, with the joy of the miner who has found his gold. The 
functions and duties of Oxford are humbler though still great, and 
so are those of all who are engaged in her service and partake 
the responsibilities of her still noble trust. To discharge faith- 
fully my portion of those duties, with the aid and kind indulgence 
of those on whose aid and kind indulgence I must always lean, 
will be my highest ambition while I hold this chair. 

Oxford is called in one of the guide-books " a City of 
Palaces " — a better phrase would be a C'liy of Churches. 
Its nineteen colleges and six halls are included under the 
title of •' The University." The Bodleian Library, consid- 
ered the finest collection in Europe, contains 2t 0,000 
printed and 22,000 manuscript volumes. Its foundation runs 
back as far as Alfred the Great, and its antiquities in stat- 
uary, medals, paintings, and religious ornaments, are care- 
fully preserved. The gardens of the colleges and the 
waters in wMch the students conduct their aquatic sports, 
wheiie Tom Brown and his associates endured their hardy 
discipline, are extremely picturesque. It is a city of no 
commerce, save what is derived from the colleges, and, 
though boasting a population of 32,000, has no daily 
paper. 



Railway ism. n^ 



XXIII.— EAILWAYISM. 

BRITISH RAILWAYISM— CLEARING HOUSE — RAILWAY STATIS- 
TICS — PENNSYLVANIA CENTRAL RAILWAY. 

London, June 8, 1867. 

The English railroads rarely cross public roads save by 
bridge or tunnel, and when they must enter a great city 
like London they almost invariably run parallel with the 
tops of the houses. You see at once how this course 
insures the safety of person and of property. Indeed, 
nothing in these masses of men and mazes of railways so 
interests and surprises the American as the ever-present 
and conscientious vigilance for the protection of human 
life. No person is permitted to walk on the track, no idle 
crowds are allowed to cluster at the stations, and in the 
few cases where the rail traverses a road on the same level, 
gates are watched by guards, who allow neither horse nor 
carriage to cross till the train is out of sight. The contri- 
vances to give efficiency to these great works are new and 
numerous. On the London and Northwestern line, the 
locom.otives take water while running at the rate of sixty 
miles an hour. An elongated iron box is laid in the 
middle of the track parallel with the rails, which is kept 
constantly filled with water from a neighboring fountain. 
As the train passes on swiftly, a scoop or shovel, fixed 
under the tender, taps the box and instantly fills the tank. 
The post-office car is a model that might be usefully im- 
itated in America, and the clearing-house in London, 
where the delegates of the various companies meet every 
fortnight for the purpose of settling accounts and fixing 
rates, is quite an institution. It is something like the 
clearing-house of our banks, and very complete. More 



I20 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

than a thousand clerks are employed in this adjusting 
process. 

While overlooking the extensive organization of the 
London and Northwestern Railroad, a few days ago, in 
company with W. Prescott Smith, Esq., of Maryland, who 
has brought to the comparison between the railroads of 
England and America all the advantages of his long ex- 
perience as the master of transportation of the Baltimore 
and Ohio Railroad Company, and who has been a most 
intelligent observer of English enterprise, I gathered some 
idea of the extent and resources of a corporation which is 
said to be the richest of its kin(^ in the world. The capital 
stock of the London and Northwestern Railway is about 
one hundred and sixty -five millions of dollars, and its in- 
come in 1866 was as follows • 

Passengers £2,809,915 

Freights, &c... 3,502,150 



£6,312,065 
or about thirty-one millions of dollars in gold. 

How enormous this is, you may judge as you recollect 
that the capital of the Pennsylvania Central Railway is 
about forty -five millions, and its income in 1866 was about 
sixteen millions of dollars. As you study these figures 
you realize how much more profitable an investment in the 
securities of our great work is than in the leading rail- 
road of the world. With one-third the capital the Penn- 
sylvania Railroad earns more than one-half as much as the 
London and Northwestern. Additionally illustrative of the 
magnitude of this great company is the fact that their 
locomotive engines number thirteen hundred and forty- 
seven, their passenger carriages or cars two thousand five 
hundred, and their freight cars or wagons twenty-seven 
thousand. Their salaried men, conductors, (''guards,") 
clerks, agents, &c., amount to two thousand eight hundred 
and sixty-three, and their working employes to twenty-six 
thousand and twenty-one ; a total of twenty-eight thousand 



Our Political Example. I2i 

eight hundred and eighty-four. I question whether the 
force of the Pennsylvania Central, in all its departments, 
including the great Philadelphia and Erie branch, equals 
ten thousand officers and men. The general comparison is 
most valuable, however it may be regarded. While on this 
subject it is proper to state that the broad gauge is every- 
where abandoned in Europe, the roads now using it 
being altered to the narrow measure most prevalent in the 
United States, though the Great Western retains it. It 
requires no gift of prophecy to anticipate the day when 
American securities, like American doctrines, will be 
honored and confided in by the wise men of the Old World. 



XXIV.— OUE POLITICAL EXAMPLE. 

ANTI-AMERICANISM OP THE LONDON PRESS — ENGLISH AND 
AMERICAN STRIKES — JUDGE KELLEY AT MOBILE — CONCES- 
SION OF POPULAR RIGHTS IN ENGLAND. 

London, June 9, 1867. 

I have not met an Englishman, no matter what his poli- 
tics, who, conversing upon the American war, has hesitated 
to say that if Great Britain had had such a rebellion as 
ours to suppress, scarcely one of the leaders would have 
been left alive to tell the story of his treason. Even those 
allowed to live would have been deprived of their rights and 
property. An eminent Colonial Governor said to me, a few 
days ago, in commenting upon the reconstruction policy of 
Congress : " You Radicals have done right, and I honor 
you for not allowing the rebels to come back into Congress 
and the Electoral College, to resume the policy that nearly 
brought your country to ruin ; and if you had not done so 



1-22 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe. 

you would have been laughed at all over Christendom ;" 
yet, while nobody denies the extraordinary moderation of 
the conquerors, it is significant how perseveringly our be- 
loved country is misrepresented by the English newspa- 
pers. I have carefully read these papers, and, with the ex- 
ception of the London Star, they seem to have adopted 
but one rule in regard to America — the rule of deliberate 
falsification of the great party that resisted the rebellion. 
Every thing, in fact, that can bring discredit upon the 
United States is eagerly copied and commented upon ; and 
no matter how quickly and completely the slander is au- 
thoritatively contradicted, they give no such thing as a re- 
traction. 

The " strikes" of the American workingmen were set 
forth as so many preparations for the overthrow of society, 
for the division of property, and for the beginning of a new 
civil war ; and when the Schuylkill county miners shot some 
of the capitalists, it was hailed as a fulfilment of these ex- 
travagant predictions. The object was to excite the upper 
and middle classes against the work-people, especially those 
who have combined for high wages. These misstatements 
became so ofi'ensive at last that one of the leading Liber- 
als called upon me for information. I explained the wide 
difi'erence between a strike in England and a strike in 
America, and instanced my own experience with the work- 
ingmen in Philadelphia and Washington, and showed him 
— what, indeed, he knew himself — how little cause there 
could be for any permanent or dangerous difference between 
capital and labor in a country where so many avenues are 
opened to honest ambition and enterprise. The conflicts in 
Schuylkill county, like the conflicts in Connecticut, orig- 
inated not among Americans, but foreigners— men who 
came from her Majesty's dominions — and in no case could 
they be charged upon the native population. To his re- 
quest that I should make a public statement to refute these 
misrepresentations, I replied that such a course would only 



Our Political Example, 123 

lead to renewed bitterness, and that " time would make all 
things even." But up to this moment no such act of jus- 
tice has been vouchsafed, although the Chicago strike has 
been finally adjusted, and the eight-hour laws of the States 
that have passed them are acquiesced in by the employers. 

Meanwhile the toiling people here are shamefully assailed 
for asking a slight advance upon their almost starving 
wages. The falsehoods do not end with the labor question. 

The attack upon Judge Kelley at Mobile furnished another 
rare bonne bouche to the same class of adversaries. Noth- 
ing was clearer than that he provoked and the negroes be- 
gan the emeute, unless it was that the whole affair proved 
that the reconstruction policy was a failure. The Ameri- 
can correspondents of the Times, the Telegraph, the Stand- 
ard, and even the News, repeated these unjust statements, 
and columns of editorial were written to sustain them. But 
not a word has appeared to correct the false impressions 
thus created, since the arrival of the facts proving that the 
Mobile difficulty originated with the rebels. Nothing dis- 
paraging is omitted. If a Copperhead predicts that the 
national debt cannot be paid if an impenitent rebel swears 
that he will not obey the laws ; if General Sickles or Gen- 
eral Sheridan is accused of tyranny to the sinless gentry 
of Charleston and New Orleans ; if President Johnson hints 
a new edition of" My Policy," it is instantly set before the 
readers of these i^apers, and garnished with appropriate 
praise. But with how little result, except to confirm aristo- 
cratic hatred of American institutions ! Even this hatred 
is giving way to the stern logic of success. Depend upon 
it, the tide has not only been turned in our favor, but 
promises to become a torrent ; and if the good work goes 
on in the South — if brave and far-sighted statesmen like 
Wilson and Kelley continue to address all parties there 
between now and the Presidential election — there is not a 
ruler on the earth that will not be compelled to square his 
conduct by our triumphant model. 



124 Colonel Fornefs Letters from Europe, 

An eminent member off Parliament, probably one of our 
most embittered adversaries during the war, in a speech 
in 1861 or 1862, hailed the cloud that threatened to hurl 
the bolt to split the American Republic as the rescue of 
the governments of Europe from their worst enemy. He 
believed our success would be the ruin of the monarchists. 
But not so, if they are wise. Not so, if, improved by our ex- 
ample, they secure themselves in the improvement of their 
people. If they resist the wholesome lessons of the times, 
they will fall, like Lucifer, unforgotten only because of their 
fatal infatuation. 

One of the most sagacious statesmen in Europe, of the 
Tory school, sees this ripe truth, and uses it like a man of 
common-sense. I mean, of course, Mr. Disraeli. He un- 
derstands that the only way to strengthen, if not to save, 
her Majesty's government is to concede as much as possi- 
ble to the British people. A few days ago, in an address 
to the working-men of London, he made the following allu- 
sion to the aristocratic opposition to the reform bill he is 
now pushing through Parliament : 

The policy which my noble friend has made the basis of the 
bill now before the House of Commons is, in effect, nothing more 
than a restoration to the people of their ancient privileges. 
When we hear of the alarm of some persons who probably affect 
more alarm than they feel at the measures which we recommend, 
we can only remember that they are measures which for a long 
time were the law of this country, and that under these laws the 
people of England became the most powerful and the most pros- 
perous community in the world. 

Whether this refers to the period of Cromwell, when 
Charles I. lost his head and the Parliament asserted the 
rights of the people against the usurpations of the Crown, 
or not, the Chancellor of the Exchequer talks like a very 
earnest progressive. No wonder Buskin, Boebuck, Lowe, 
and their retroactive associates, fear and abuse America, 
when a leading Conservative statesman, the immediate 



From London to Paris, 125* 

minister of the monarch, carefully shapes his " policy" in 
obedience to popular expectation. Every hour makes the 
impression deeper in my mind that if we had not conquered 
the rebellion in America, the millions of Europe would have 
been sunk into hopeless servitude. Our victory was theirs, 
because it was the victory of Liberty over Slavery. 



XXV.— FROM LONDON TO PAEIS. 

CROSSING THE CHANNEL — SUNSHINE RETURNS — PARIS WITH- 
OUT A PARALLEL — CHARACTER OP TH^ PARISIANS — 
PRANCE IN CONTRAST WITH ENGLAND AND THE UNITED 
STATES — napoleon's SWAY — CHANGES IN PARIS — UNPAVED 
STREETS — A DAY'S AMUSEMENTS — SUNDAY IN PARIS— THE 
CATHOLICS. 

Paris, June 20, 1867. 

From London to Paris ! — not so far as from Philadel- 
phia to Pittsburg, and not very much further than from 
New York to Washington, and yet this short distance di- 
vides two nations almost as different from each other as if 
a sea of fire rolled between them. Indeed, the narrow 
space of twenty-six miiles of water, from Dover to Calais, 
separates these long-hostile and still jealous powers — rivals 
alike in traditions, in history, in war, in commerce, in 
science, in diplomacy, in literature, and in language — the 
one proud of its Angl o-Saxon, the other of its Latin origin, 
and each claiming to be the head of its own race. If the 
British islands were not sea-girt, if their natural fortress 
were not their rock-bound coast, the English example 
would never have be en so potent throughout the world. 
The waves of other civilizations would have minoied with 



126 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

and adulterated their own ; and instead of being, as now, a 
purely independent power, their institutions would be 
largely affected, like those of the Continent, by the preju- 
dices and manners of their neighbors. I have 'never so 
strongly realized this truth as since I saw the palpable 
proof of it. We left London at 8.30 p. m. ; and giving 
eighty minutes to crossing the Channel on a calm mooplit 
night, reached Paris about half-past seven the next morn- 
ing. I have confessed my sensations on landing at Liver- 
pool, but at least surprise was there softened by the 
familiar sound of my own language, even if that was 
spoiled by the dismal Dundrearyism of the gentry, and in 
the unintelligible dialect of the country people. But the 
change from England to France is almost the transition 
from one planet to another. It was not alone that when 
the steamer reached Calais we found the people using a 
foreign tongue, nor that their dress was grotesque to a de- 
gree, but that every thing was odd, and nature assisted to 
complete the contrast. For more than a month the heavens 
of England had been hung in black, but the morning 
we drove from the station to the Hotel du Louvre, in the 
French capital, was as bright as if we had been in our 
sunny America. And every thing else seemed to be in har- 
mony. Instead of the dark buildings and gloomy streets 
of London, I saw broad highwaj^s and towering houses, ap- 
parently composed of the same light stone, which fairly 
sparkled in the beams of the early day. Paris, as I have 
since experienced, revels at night, and does not retire till 
long past the small hours ; and it is only at high noon 
that she wakes from her slumber to begin the eternal round 
of pleasure and excitement. 

There is no parallel to Paris on the globe — least of all 
in staid and straight-laced England. My first impression 
was of an extended playhouse or.eictravagant pic-nic, or- 
ganized for a temporary purpose ; but this soon gave way to 
the fact that the French people are governed through their 



From London to Paris, 127 

appetites, and that he who aspires to rule them must con- 
stantly cultivate their tastes for personal enjoyment. 
Hence Pleasure here is a permanent institution. Else- 
where exfceptionable, it is here a habit. In the United 
States the grand objective point of life is to found a 
home-— to rise in the world ; here the end of every day, and 
I fear the end of all days, is a seat m a cafe, a theatre or a 
ball-room. 

I hope I do not underrate these people when I declare 
that in my opinion it will be many years before they are 
fit for such freedom as we enjoy ; but I do not forget that 
they have never yet proved themselves, armed with mar- 
vellous opportunities, equal to a serious efi'ort, or to a pro- 
longed trial of genuine liberty. I think I can see at once 
why they fly at the throat of the master who misuses 
them ; and why, when he is at their feet, they speedily fall 
under the domination of a new despot. I can now under- 
stand why, when Lamartine, Ledru RoUin, Arago, and 
their associates, organized a republic, twenty years ago, 
they rejected the American model with some scorn, and, 
attempting an impracticable Utopia and an impossible Ar- 
cadia, failed. A people addicted to pleasure as the chief 
end of man, can never accommodate themselves to the 
prose of representative liberty. For that system has cor- 
relative blessings and duties , and none can enjoy the one 
without faithfully fulfilling the other. 

There is no contrast more significant between England 
and France than that England is a land of homes — France 
a land of hotels and restaurants. If I desired a brief de- 
scription of the domestic habits of tMe two peoples, this 
half sentence would contain it. Between the United States 
and France, unhappily the contrast is even greater. 
Here there is neither apolitical nor religious future for the 
poor man. In America every industrious citizen accumu- 
lates property and aspires to high position. Although the 
great public works in Paris were projected, among other 



128 Colonel Forney s. Letters from Europe. 

things, to give employment to the poor, yet they earn little 
more than their bread and wine, and never have any sur- 
plus. When these works are finished, as in a short period 
they must be, where will the millions look for subsistence ? 
This is a terrible question to a ruler who can offer no such 
prospect to his subjects as is presented to the working 
people of America. That Louis Napoleon, alive to these 
warnings, may be leading his countrymen to their first re- 
alization of self-government, is the hope of some thought- 
ful men, and God grant it may be so. He understands it 
so well, that in order to hold himself secure he ''fools 
them to the top of their bent." Nobody denies that they 
were never so happ3^ under any former master; and the 
materialists will ask, for what else Government was made 
but to promote the happiness of men ? And certainly, if 
the French continue docile under a system which gives 
them no share of government, the materialist is right. 
But their history proves them to be a restless, dissatisfied 
and exacting race ; and, as they are the most acute of the 
Latin tribes, it is barely possible that, in an age so con- 
stantly progressive, they may learn enough at last to take 
the reins into their own hands. But my brief observation 
inspires no such hope. The surprise and satisfaction of 
the American in Paris are generally succeeded by the 
same conviction. However eagerly he may enter upon 
the amusements and the novelties of the metropolis, he 
soon tires of the incessant pageant. Is he far wrong, see- 
ing more than thirty millions of people making the froth of 
fashion and the foam of frolic almost their daily food. 

The Emperor wofld have a hard task if he did not know 
these traits of his countrymen. And with this knowledge, 
he certainly directs them well. He has turned their idol- 
ized capital into what they unhesitatingly call a paradise. 
The old faubourgs where Revolution plotted are being torn 
out by the roots, like so many poisonous fangs. Waste 
places are cultivated into gardens, narrow streets broadened 



From London to Paris, 



129 



into avenues, neglected suburbs transformed into blooming 
environs. An intelligent Englishman, speaking for thou- 
sands of visitors, yesterday declared that Louis Napoleon 
was the Augustus Caesar of France, and that future ages 
would honor him, if for nothing else, for the magical 
changes he has wrought in Paris. It is these which 
make it so rare an attraction to native and foreigner. I 
will not attempt to describe it ; but if there is any thing in 
Paris I ' could wish to see introduced into Philadelphia, 
Washington, and other American cities, it is the system 
of paving the walks, streets, and common roads. Recol- 
lecting the millions vainly squandered in attempting to 
give us something like decent thoroughfares in the United 
States, and thinking of the terrific dust of Washington in 
the summer and mud in winter, and of the rough highways 
of Philadelphia, not excluding Broad street, I am sure it 
would be economy to send a commission to Paris to ascer- 
tain how these magnificent boulevards and drives are con- 
structed and kept in such admirable order. Traversed 
day and night by thousands of vehicles of every sort, light 
and heavy, they are as smooth and as clean as the best 
walks in the grounds around the President's House or the 
Capitol Building. Whether it be true or not that one of 
the motives of the Emperor was to deprive the architects 
of the barricades of the use of the stones they tore from 
the streets in revolutionary times, he has made rich and 
poor happy in the pleasure derived from the enjoyment of 
these unrivalled roads and streets. They are almost end- 
less, leading and terminating, so to speak, everywhere. 
Miles after miles they run through an ever-changing 
variety of scenery ; beginning with the city and extending 
into the country; along countless cafes, gardens, parks, 
conservatories, museums, baronies, rivers, cascades, mod- 
ern wonders, and historical antiquities. If I were to 
attempt to enumerate all these attractions I would tire 
you. 



130 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

As a specimen of one day's amusements, I take from 
Galignani's Messenger, of Saturday, the following : 

STRANGEES' DIARY. 

TO-MOEROW — SUNDAY. 

Grand waterworks at Versailles. Basin of Neptune illuminated 
at 9 p. M. 

Universal ExMbition — Reserved hours, 8 to 10 j ordinary hours, 
10 to 6. 

Races at Fontainebleau, at half-past 1. 

Steeple-Chase at Vincennes, at half-past 2. 

Flower Garden of the city of Paris, 137 avenue d'Eylau, from 
1 to5. 

English church, opposite the Embassy, rue d'Aguesseau, Rev. 
E. Forbes ; 10 a. m., 12 noon, 3^ p. m., and 8 p. m. Church of 
England, 10 avenue Marbeuf, Rev. G. G. Gardiner; 10, 12, 3|^, and 
8. Church of England, 35 rue Boissy-d' Anglais, Rev. Archer Gur- 
ney; 85-, 10, 11^, 3^, and 7|-. Evangelical service at the Wesleyan 
Chapel, 4 rue Roquepine, Rev. W. Gibson; English service at 11^ 
and 7^. English Congregational chapel, 23 rue Royale, at 11|- a. 
M. and 7^ p. m. ; Presbyterian worship at 11 a. m. and 3 in the 
small chapel at the Oratoire. American chapel, rue de Berri, 11^ 
and ^^ ; at the Oratoire, in French, 12 a. m. At the American 
Episcopal Church, rue Bayard, Rev. W. 0. Lamson, rector ; 11^ 
and 3|-. Anglo- American Church, 11.30 a. m. ; Litany with sermon, 
4.30 p. m. ; special service, 6 p. m. Free Church of Scotland, 
Taitbout chapel, 54 rue de Provence, at 10.30 a. m. and 3.15 p. 
M. For the English Catholics, Church of St. Roch, I'Abbg Roger- 
son. Church of St. Nicholas de Beaujon, the Passionist Fathers, 
Russian Church, mass at 11 At St. Germain en-Laye, 11|- and 
3|. At Yersailles, English Church, 11 bis, rue des Bons Enfans, 
llj and ^. At Fontainebleau, rue de la Paroisse, 3|-. Chantilly, 
St. Peter's Church, 11 and 3. 

At the Louvre galleries, painting, sculpture, from 12 to 4. 
Luxembourg — Galleries of paintings, 12 to 4. 
Cabinet of Natural History, Zoology, and Mineralogy, at the 
Garden of Plants, 1 to 5. 
Hotel Cluny ; Palais des Thermes, 11 to 5. 
Ste. Chapelle, 11 to 5. 
Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, 10 to 4, 



From London to Paris, 131 

Museum of Musical Instruments, at the Conservatoire, 2 rue 
Berg6re, 12 to 4. \ 

Palace of St. Cloud, 12 to 4. * 

Historical Galleries and Palace of Versailles, Trianon, 12 to 5. 

At St. Germain, Musee, Gallo-Romain, from 11^ to 5. 

Palace of Pierrefonds, near Compifegne, Museum of Arms, 12 
to 4, Northern Eailway. 

Cathedral of St. Denis, 11 to 4. By the Northern Eailway. 

Palace of La Malmaison, 12 to 4. 

Palace of Fontainebleau, 12 to 4. 

O^era (7|^) — La Juive. 

Fram^ais (7|^)— L'Aventuri^re—Le Jeu de I'Amour et du Has- 
ard. 

Opera- Cotmque (8) — L'Etoile du Nord. 

Lyrique (7^) — Eomeo et Juliette. 

Gymnase (8|) — Les Id6es de Mme. Aubray. 

Palais-Royal (7) — La Yie Parisienne — Menage S, Quatre. 

Vaudeville (8) — La Dame aux Camfelias. 

Varietes (7^) — La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein — Lambinet. 

Amhigu (7:|) — La Bouquetfeire des Innocents. 

Gaits (7|) — Le Courrier de Lyon. 

Chafelet (7^)— Cendrillon. 

Hippodrome (3) — Spectacle Equestre. 

Prince Imperial (8) — American Circus. 

Folies-Dramatiques (7|) — Le Pfere Gachette. 

Folies St. Germain (8) — Les Memoires du Diable — Y^nus — 
L'Ecaill^re. 

Folies Marigny (Champs Elysees) (8) — Bu quis 'avance — En 
Classe Mesdemoiselles. 

Concert des Champ s-Elysies, 8 to 11. 

Pri Catalan (To-morrow), Concert at 2. 

Panorama^ of Solferino, Champs Elysees. 

TMs is Paris on Sunday ! In Philadelphia, The Press 
has been roundly abused for asking that the city railroads 
may be used for the working people on the first day of the 
week, and a violent, and I think cruel, Phariseeism has 
thus far defeated this measure of justice and humanity. 
It is far from my purpose to cite Paris as an argument in 



132 Colonel Forney s Letters from Eur of e, 

favor of this measure. When that day of rest is dishon- 
ored in America as it is tiere, freedom will have gone from 
us for ever ; but is there not something even in French 
example that should teach American statesmen the duty 
of considering the physical condition of our working 
masses ? And why should Philadelphia be an exception 
to the rule adopted by the most exemplary American 
cities ? There is a vast difference between what is called 
Heligion in the two countries. Here it is of the head — a 
form, not a faith ; an idea, not a conviction 5 a theory, not a 
creed. The devoted Catholics are the females; the men 
have a philosophy rather than a religion. The Catholic 
religion in Europe, excepting in Ireland, is decaying. In 
France it is falling into disrepute under the merciless re- 
searches of Ihe scholars and the controversialists. In Italy 
the Pope is more hated by those who call themselves 
Catholics than by the Calvinists themselves. In Germany 
he is disregarded by prince and peasant. In Spain papacy 
is the weapon of tyranny, ignorance, and superstition. In 
our own country the Catholic Church is as little like the 
pure Romanist organization in Italy, Spain, and Mexico, 
as the American Episcopal Church is like its aristocratic 
British prototype. And though it may be true that the 
tendencies of many who worship under the forms of the 
latter are adding worshippers to Home, it is perfectly 
clear to my vision that, as man progresses in intellect and 
improves in physical condition, every denomination that 
does not address itself directly to an intelligent and fear- 
less conscience must grow weaker until it collapses in dark- 
ness and death. Let him who doubts this assertion visit 
Italy and talk to Garibaldi — the Island of Guernsey, and 
talk to Yictor Hugo — or Paris, and talk to Laboulaye. 



The Universal Exposition of 1867. 133 



XXVL— THE UNIVERSAL EXPOSITION 

OF 1867. 

FRANCE PLACED PREDOMINANT — THE UNITED STATES DE- 
PARTMENT — PHIZES TO AMERICAN EXHIBITORS — DR. EVANS 
AND THE SANITARY COLLECTION — PHILADELPHIA INVEN- 
TIONS AND APPLICATIONS — PHILADELPHIA CENTRAL FAIR 
AND REFRESHMENT SALOONS — LITERATURE OF THE SANI- 
TARY COMMISSION. 

Paris, June 21, 1867. 

The Universal Exposition is one of the thousand devices 
of the Emperor to attract strangers and capital to Paris, 
and, however it may be criticized, it will always stand as a 
monument of his own sagacity, and of the genius of the 
French nation. Nothing has been left undone to make it 
worthy of the pride of this peculiar people and the patron- 
age of others. The predominance of France is steadily 
made manifest. France in art and France in arms are the 
two almost ubiquitous ideas, and wonderfully are they 
illustrated. Everywhere it is Napoleon I., and Napoleon 
III. The Bourbon and the Orleans aspirations are only 
noticed to be humiliated; and though England, Russia, 
Austria, Italj^, and Germany send munificent contributions, 
he is but a narrow observer who cannot see in the military 
omnipresence of France an eloquent rebuke of nationalities 
which the Great Captain more than once defeated and 
humiliated. There is a double motive, therefore, iii these 
royal invitations to foreign princes and potentates. The 
craving appetite of the French multitudes for display, and 
their inordinate passion for military glory, are gratified, 
while trade, which would undoubtedly languish if not lapse 
into bloody discontent but for these successive ovations, is 



134 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

kept in a feverish vitality. Here you have the whole secret 
of government in France — and not of government only, 
but of society- Take awaj^ these restraining stimulants — 
if I may coin a phrase — and Paris would be a volcano, 
alternately slumbering and exploding. 

That portion of the Exposition allotted to the United 
States could not, under the best circumstances, be as large 
or as well filled as the sections set apart for British or Con- 
tinental exhibitors. Paris, a great geographical, political, 
and commercial centre to Europeans, is separated from the 
Americans by three thousand miles of ocean. To this 
great natural obstacle were added the diplomatic complica- 
tions resulting from the attempt of the Emperor of the 
French to establish Maximilian in Mexico. Congress and 
the press viL the United States construed this attempt in 
the interest of the rebellion, and our people were naturally 
not willing to assist in swelling the attractions of a demon- 
stration projected by the author of that ill-fated experi- 
ment. Yet, notwithstanding these untoward events, there 
is much in the American department to make us proud of 
our country. Under ordinary circumstances, we should 
have been an overmatch in many products for every other 
nation but France and England, and must have equalled 
these in certain great staples of manufactures. As it stands, 
the Imperial Commissioners, appointed to investigate the 
relative merits of the various contestants, have decided to 
award three of the twelve highest prizes to Americans, 
viz. : To Cyrus W Field, the bold pioneer of the Atlantic 
Telegraph ; to Thomas W. Evans, for his Sanitary Collec- 
tion ; and to House, for his Magnetic Telegraph. These 
highest prizes do not take the usual shape of medals, but 
will be something more significant and substantial,. The 
three gentlemen named are each to be honored for more 
than a mere invention — for an idea — a great thought, that 
contributes to the comfort and happiness of their fellow- 
creatures. Medals of gold, silver, and bronze have been 



The Universal Exposition of \%G^, 135 

awarded to other Americans. Chickering and Steinway 
have each received a gold medal for their superb pianos ; 
W. Sellers & Co., of Philadelphia, have carried off the medal 
for their machine tools ; and T. Morris Perot, also of Phila- 
delphia, has been similarly distinguished for his ambulance 
and medicine wagon, so highly prized and universally 
used during our war. The American reapers, after a fair 
trial, vanquished all competitors, and received not only the 
medals but the personal commendations of the Imperial 
Commission. The splendid locomotive of the Paterson 
(New Jersey) Works, has also been signalized, and various 
other objects of American invention, improvement, or 
manufacture, have been set apart for special notice. Illi- 
nois is probably better represented than any other State— 
a result of the energy and munificence that, in less than 
ten years, have made her great Central Railroad one of the 
leading securities in the money markets of the world, and 
in less than twenty years have built Chicago into an almost 
cosmopolitan city, with a future such as no other capital 
in America can anticipate. In the Illinois collection are a 
model of the free country school-house of America and a 
model of a Western farmer's residence. They are regarded 
with great curiosity and interest by the hundreds of thou- 
sands of Europeans who daily throng the grounds. Each is 
an argument for liberty. In the farm-house are maps show- 
ing the progress of the West in the elements of civilization 
and wealth, in railroads, towns, products of the soil, manu- 
factures, population, &c. 

The public land system of America is explained in the 
reports of the Commissioner of the General Land OflSce at 
Washington, which are circulated gratuitously with the 
consent of the Emperor Nai3oleon. Thus the European 
artisan at once understands the advantages of America 
over all countries, by being brought face to face with the 
fact that he can there get a home for himself, almost for 
nothing, educate his children in the public schools without 



136 Colo?iel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

charge, and then leave them to fight their way on equal 
terms with the best. Thanks to the perseverance of Mr. 
James H. Bowen, of Chicago, this significant feature of the 
Exposition has become an object of increasing interest to 
visitors of all nationalities. Not far from the American 
school-house and the American farm-house is the costly 
miniature palace specially constructed, at enormous ex- 
pense, for the temporary use of the Empress of Russia 
during her recent visit to Paris. The contrast was singularly 
forcible. Six hundred thousand soldiers are necessary to 
defend the occupants of that palace against their foes, and 
these must be sustained by incessant taxation upon the 
labor of others ; while the owners of the American farm- 
houses, educated at their own free schools, are the arbiters 
of their own destinies. They go to war only for peace and 
freedom , and when these are secured, they dismantle their 
armaments, and fall back into the ranks of private life, en- 
riching and elevating themselves at the same time. 

But to me the most interesting part of the Universal 
Exposition was that which concerned Pennsylvania. I 
allude to the contribution of Dr. Thomas W. Evans, of 
Paris, a gentleman who twenty, years ago lived in Philadel- 
phia, and afterwards in my native town of Lancaster, in 
both of which he is so favorably remembered. 

Those who were contemporaneous with the war, and who 
watched with pride and amazement the development not 
only of the military but especially of the sanitary prepara- 
tions for that terrible struggle for Liberty, can best under- 
stand how much Dr. Evans has done, by seeing what I have 
seen. He seized the first and the fittest moment to let the 
world know what his country did to alleviate human suf- 
fering during that war, and, while giving to mankind the 
benefit of her experiences and her many discoveries in 
Christian science, he gracefully set forth the startling story 
of her victorious vindication. Dr. Evans had precisely the 
position, as he had the temper, to conduct this grand mis- 



The Universal Exposition of i%6^. 137 

sion. By his energy, courage, tact, and intelligence, he 
had secured the confidence of the Parisian community 
and the favor of the Emperor Napoleon. In this double 
relation he has had a most difficult role to fill ; but as he 
has carefully refused to become a politician, and has always 
diligently prosecuted his j)rofession, he has never become 
an object of enmity even to those who envied him. Sig- 
nalized by the highest mark of the sovereign's confidence, 
the universally-sought decoration of the Legion of Honor, 
I do not believe there is a harder-working man in Paris 
than Dr. Evans. Calling at his office, 15 Rue de la Paix, 
a few days ago, I found him overrun with business. Patients 
of every degree waited in his ante-rooms, and his assist- 
ants, like himself, bad hardly a word to give to any one. 
Rising at eight every morning, he toils on till night, and 
yet is one of the freshest and most amiable men I ever met. 
Dr. Evans cannot be forty-five years old from his appear- 
ance, and, though famous all over Europe, is as proud and 
as fond of his profession as ever. He says he never forgets 
his old customers, and that no matter how humble or poor, 
he always gives them the precedence. They encouraged 
him in his days of adversity, and he will not forget them in 
his prosperity. Gradually yet surely his rare scientific 
attainments and experience extended his influence, until 
now it is nowhere denied that there is hardly a sovereign 
on the Continent who does not frequently and confiden- 
tially consult him. Large honors have accompanied, and 
immense riches have rewarded, his exertions. But nothing 
has ever cooled or weakened his attachment to his native 
country. When the war broke out, he never faltered in his 
Mth in her final triumph. Closely connected with Napo- 
leon, the grave complications alluded to did not shake his 
religious reliance iu the ultimate success of the Union 
cause ; and when efi'orts were made to misrepresent that 
cause, it was Dr. Evans who said the good word at the 
proper time, and who successfully combated the designs of 



138 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

the Confederates. The removal of the irritatioiis which 
threatened to disturb our relations with France and the 
crushing downfall of the rebellion placed him in the hap- 
piest situation to consummate the splendid work according 
to his initial promise. No other man could have so ad- 
mirably placed one of the grandest pages of the war before 
the sovereigns and savans of Europe ; for no one could 
have secured so important and so generally inaccessible an 
audience. The crowned heads of the Continent, their 
counsellors and Cabinets, have had a revelation made to 
them in the simplified records of the American Sanitary 
Commission. Their own bloody and desperate conflicts, 
and the constant dangers of their situation, have made the 
subject one of deep solicitude to them, and it is easy to see 
that they were not the less inclined to study it, when it 
was proffered to their consideration by one they so highly 
esteemed. 

From this you will perceive that Dr. Evans was exactly 
the man to organize the practical part of the work, and 
you need not be surprised that the Imperial Commission 
has rewarded him with one of the highest prizes. The 
collection itself occupies a portion of the grounds near the 
main entrance of the Exposition. You are attracted by 
the inscription, in large letters : " Succor to the wounded/^' 
In company with Mr. L. F. Mellen, of Alabama, Secretary 
of the United States Commissioners, I saw it to great 
advantage ; and you may well conceive that, if strangers 
enjoyed it, I was not insensible to the recollections it aroused. 
To find myself in the presence of the sacred memorials of 
the war that ended in the salvation of my beloved country, 
and to know that these memorials were daily examined, 
and in many instances copied, bv the rulers of the oldest 
nations of the world, was indescribable satisfaction. Phila- 
delphia, the very first to move in the great work of sanitary 
reform, and the most munificent and persevering of all the 
American cities in the vast civic and benevolent organi- 



The Universal Exposition ^1867. 139 

zations of that fearful struggle, however neglected in other 
respects in the Universal Exposition, can never repay Dr. 
Evans ; and while I saw with regret and shame that 
Pennsylvania was left without so much as a small section 
designated by her great name in the department of the 
United States — by whose neglect I will not stop to in- 
quire — I turned gratefully to the quarter where one man, 
out of his own means, and by his own energy and intellect, 
had erected at once our vindication and his own monument. 
Some of the articles collected particularly arrested my 
attention. I will name a few : 

The "Wheeling Ambulance, improved by T. Morris Perot, of 
Philadelphia. A light, two-horse, four-wheeled carriage, intended 
to convey four persons besides the driver : two recumbent, two 
sitting, or ten sitting. Perot's improvement consists in the em- 
ployment of springs of caoutchouc — four strong rings of this 
material being secured within the body of the ambulance and 
attached to levers springing from the axletrees. It is claimed 
that this application secures for the carriage an easy and agreea-. 
ble movement, and an almost entire absence of concussion, even 
over the roughest roads. 

An Ambulance; one of thirty, of similar construction, given by 
citizens of Philadelphia during the war to as many fire companies 
of that city, and employed in conveying sick and wounded soldiers 
arriving at the Baltimore station across the city — about four 
miles — to the New York station, or to the various hospitals 
This ambulance service was voluntarily assumed by the firemen, 
and the presence of sick soldiers and the number of ambulances, 
needed was signalled through the electric apparatus of the Fire 
Department. In the ambulance exhibited about three thousand 
soldiers were transferred from station to station. 

(This ambulance was sent here by the Philadelphia Fire Com- 
pany.) 

A Medicine Wagon, known as Perot's — constructed byT. Morris 
Perot, of Philadelphia. In this wagon the drawers and compart- 
ments are adapted to the carriage of medicines in bulk, in parcels, 
and in bottles ; the system of packing being such as to secure the 
latter against fracture in certain cases by the employment of 



140 Colonel Forney's Letters from Europe. 

springs, and in others by columns of compressible air, obtained by 
a simple device. The rear of the wagon is so constructed as to 
shelter the surgeon, while dispensing in the field, from rain and 
wind. A set of hand-litters is carried, as also a strong amputat- 
ing table. This wagon is a little lighter than the Autenrieth 
wagon, and was usually drawn by four horses. Wagons con- 
structed by Mr. Perot were used to a considerable extent by the 
United States Medical Bureau during the late war. 

A Coffee Wagon ; invented by J. Dunton, of Philadelphia. The 
wagon exhibited — designed to furnish the soldier on the march 
and on the field of battle with hot coffee and tea — was one of 
several in the service of the United States Christian Commission 
during the last months of the war, and was actually employed by 
that commission — furnishing hot coffee to the wounded of both 
armies — on the day of the surrender of General Lee, at Appomat- 
tox Court-House. 

A Field Medicine Pannier Basket, furnished ; made by T. Morris 
Perot, of Philadelphia. 

A Medicine Pannier, furnished; made by Jacob Dunton, of 
Philadelphia. The bottles in this pannier are of block tin — inter- 
nal and external surfaces of tin, between which is placed thin 
lamina of wood. The bottles are light and strong, well secured at 
the mouth, and, as was generally the case when economy of space 
was desired, square in form. 

A Hospital Knapsack, furnished ; made by J. Dunton, of Phila- 
delphia. It is intended that this knapsack should be carried in 
the field by a steward, with a suitable provision of medicines, 
stimulants, dressings, etc. The knapsack is so constructed as to 
rest to a considerable extent on the small of the back and hips, 
and, by its weight, rather assists than otherwise the soldier in 
maintaining an erect position. 

A Hospital Knapsack, furnished ; made by T. Morris Perot, of 
Philadelphia. It is designed that this basket shall serve the 
same purpose as the hospital knapsack described. 

A Block Model of the United States General Hospital at West 
Philadelphia, giving a general view of the grounds, pavilions, 
kitchens, &c., connected with that hospital. 

A Block Model of the United States General Hospital at 
Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, giving a general view of the grounds. 



The Universal Exposition of I'^G^, 141 

pavilions, corridors, kitchens, railways, drains, &c., connected 
with that hospital. 

A Lithographic View of the same hospital. 

Model of a Pavilion of the United States General Hospital at 
Chestnut Hill, scale 1-24. This model shows in fac-simile the ex- 
terior and interior construction of a ward pavilion, the mode of 
ventilation and heating (Leeds' system), the bath-rooms, and 
offices, together with the arrangement of beds, furniture, etc. 

A Field Hospital Tent, called " the Umbrella-tent," made by 
Wm. Eichardson, of Philadelphia, It is claimed that this tent 
occupies less space when packed, is more readily unpacked and 
erected, and when erected is more convenient and secure, than 
either the square (wall) or Sibley tents, which have hitherto been 
regarded with most favor. 

A Hospital Mess Chest ; made by T. Morris Perot, of Philadel- 
phia — containing 6 tin-cups, 1 tin-dipper, 1 pepper-box, 1 salt-box, 
1 grater, 6 knives and forks, 1 meat fork, 1 basin, 1 bowl, 6 iron 
teaspoons, 6 iron tablespoons, 1 fry-pan, 1 oval teapot, 1 iron tea- 
kettle, 1 stew-pan, 1 oval boiler, 6 round tin-pans, 6 tin-tumblers, 
1 coffee boiler, 3 tin-boxes for coffee, tea and sugar. 

An Artificial Leg ; made by D. W Kolbe, of Philadelphia. 

A Mess Pannier ; J. Dunton, Philadelphia ; containing stove, 
coffee-pot, pepper, salt, and butter-box, cups, plates, knives and 
forks, etc. 

The American Combined Knife and Fork ; for the use of those 
having but one hand. 

Lithograph of the Bazaar of the Sanitary Commission at Phila- 
delphia. 

Here, also, were the Soldiers' Library; the Soldiers' 
Writing-desk, the little sack filled with articles for the 
soldier's use, sent by the million from the ladies of America ; 
the Sick Soldiers' Car, with beds, medicines, &c., and 
specimens of the ten thousand delicacies and contrivances 
of a grateful people for the defenders of the Republic. 
And everywhere the old flag, woven in the quilts, printed 
on the envelopes, on the letter sheets, in the books, and 
even on the Bibles they read. But nothing brought back 
the tide of memoiy so strong as a little piece of thin 



142 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

parchment called "the identifier," given to every Union 
soldier as he enlisted, by the Sanitary Commission, in- 
tended to be carried on his person, so that if killed in 
battle his name would not be unknown to those who might 
find his mutilated remains. On one side were these words : 

" I am (soldiers' name), of Company — , Eegiment — , Brigade — , 
Division — , Army Corps — . 

" God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, 
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have ever- 
lasting life." 

And on the other side were these words : 

"Address my (father, mother, wife, brother, or sister, as the 
case might be, with the post-office, where said relative or connec- 
tion might reside)." 

The intelligent young gentleman selected by Dr. Evans 
to explain to visitors the different parts of this collection 
stated that he had been called upon to perform that task 
for numerous members of the royal families of Europe, 
and that that very morning the Grand Duchess Louisa of 
Baden had seen and studied these various objects. I will not 
pry into the thoughts that such an experience must have 
started in such minds, but I will ask whether the man who 
gives his time and money to the collection of such information 
is not more worthy of the honor of his fellow-countrymen 
than if he expended both in what is called high art ? As 
if not satisfied to let these evidences of Philadelphia genius 
during the war tell their own story, I found the memorial 
of our Great Central Fair, held at Logan Square under 
such inspiring circumstances, written by our accomplished 
citizen, Dr. C. J. Stille, filed among the archives of the col- 
lection. The whole record was thus carefully made up for 
the foreign thinker ; and from the day that the patriotic 
women on Washington avenue, Philadelphia, came forth to 
relieve the first regiments that embarked at the foot of that 
thoroughfare, tired and hungry, on their way to the defence 



The Universal Exposition of i%6^, 143 

of Washington, to the extension of that spontaneous 
charity in the never-to-be-forgotten Cooper-Shop and Union 
Refreshment Saloons, nothing is left undone to complete a 
history worthy of a world's applause and imitation. Of 
course these souvenirs are not confined to Philadelphia. 
The contributions of other cities, including most of the 
improvements of the officers of the army, all have place. 
Among the literature I noticed the " Discourse of the Rev. 
Dr. Bellows, president of the United States Sanitary Com-: 
mission," in reply to the question, "Why the Sanitary 
Commission need so much Money ?" " Military Statistics 
of the United States," by Mr. Eliot; "Three Weeks at 
Gettysburg;" "History of the Sanitary Commission;" 
Photographs of places made memorable by the war ;" " A 
roll of the autographs of 19,108 persons, mostly soldiers, 
who had undergone surgical operations without pain, while 
under the influence of nitrous oxide gas, administered by 
Dr. J. N. Colton;" and last, not least, the eloquent and 
unrivalled groups, *in terre cuite, by Rogers, perpetuating 
some of the famous events of the war. Whatever may be 
said of the Emperor's opposition to freedom of the press 
in France, the fact that he cordially consented to allow 
these significant trophies of American benevolence towards 
the soldiers of the Republic during the war a place in the 
Exposition, and the imobstructed circulation of American 
pamphlets on these subjects, deserves to be noted to his 
lasting credit. 

I do not depreciate high art, but I confess that in the 
midst of the monuments of materialism by which I was 
surrounded, sent here by the old nations, including the 
chef-cfoeuvres of masters that have honored ancient and 
modern times, the result of these labors of our countryman, 
Dr. Evans, seemed to me most worthy of praise. He has 
unconsciously supplied the answer to the question why 
America, the freest of human governments, has not ex- 
celled in works of genius. That answer is found to be not 



144 Colonel Fornefs Letters from Europe, 

"because we are young in years, but because we have loftier 
objects to consummate and a grander destiny to crown, 
than a passion for aesthetic studies and pursuits, which, 
however pleasing, yet, let the truth be said, too often lead 
a people to forget their moral obligations to themselves 
and their posterity. For is it not written that where lux- 
ury and art prevail, the masses are almost, if not always, 
slaves ? But I find myself treading on somewhat forbidden 
ground, and so close my narrative before I destroy it hj 
turning it into an essay. 



XXVII.— UNION TEIUMPHS. 

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA ELECTION AND VICTORY — ^INEVITA- 
BLE SPREAD OF REPUBLICANISM — STATE OF EUROPE-— AND 
OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Paris, June 22, 1867. 

The news of the election of the Republican ticket in the 
city of Washington, on the 3d of June, was joyfully re- 
ceived by the Radical Americans in Paris. Some solicitude 
was felt in consequence of the efforts of the Democrats to 
secure the votes of the colored citizens, and the predictions, 
copied into the Tory papers, that many would support the 
candidates of their persistent foes. Although I never my- 
self doubted the fidelity of the liberated people of the 
District of Columbia, I confess that I received the intelli- 
gence of their victory, so far away from home, with unut- 
terable satisfaction. Here, as in the United States, the 
enemies of humanity and freedom calculate largely upon 
dissensions among these new voters, and upon their sur- 
render to their old masters ; and here, as in our own 
countrj'-, the champions of human/reedom hope every thing 



Union Triumphs. 145 

from their unity and courage. Every such result, there- 
fore, as that which defeated the Copperheads in George- 
town and Washington, strengthens the good cause im- 
measurably. Failure at the centre would weaken all the 
extremities, and would especially discourage the millions 
in the Old World who are so directly interested in the 
success of universal suffrage in the United States. Rest 
assured the triumph of true representative government 
with us will improve or abolish all other systems, and the 
more peaceful and economical our example the surer and 
more complete will be the sequel. As I anticipate the 
future of my country in the light of the tremendous events 
that have succeeded the death of slavery, I feel how futile 
all efforts must be to prevent the spread of true republi- 
canism. There is no better position from which to cast 
the world's horoscope than here. France and England are 
tranquil, mainly because of their enormous militarj^ estab- 
lishments. Even the London Times, a few weeks ago, sub- 
stantially declared that the last Convention of the Great 
Powers, known as the treaty of Luxemburg, simply left 
Europe in a state of fortified quiet, with each party to the 
bargain armed and ready for a fight on the slightest 
notice ; and this must be the condition en permanence of 
all the ancient governments till they are completely liber- 
alized. 

The expense of these enormous establishments increases 
with the growth of population and the intelligence of the 
masses. The financial condition of France and England is 
admirable ; not so that of Spain, Italy, Austria, Russia, 
Bavaria, &c. Italy is on the verge of worse than bank- 
ruptcy, Russia is hardly better off, while Bavaria is ex- 
hausting herself in military preparations. 

Take the United States after a war unparalleled in modern 
civilization, in the numbers engaged, the money and lives 
lost, and the vital issues decided, and you have an army of 
half a million reduced to one of less than fifty thousand ; 



146 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

the national securities nearly at a premium in the markets 
of the world ; our paper currency not only not irredeemable, 
as is nearly the case with that of Russia, but rapidly ap- 
proaching the specie standard ; our great railroad stocks 
above par in London and Paris (both Pennsylvania Cen- 
tral and Illinois Central are largely purchased) ; and four 
millions of inexperienced people adapting themselves to the 
enjoyment of rights in the midst of their own obedience to 
law and the general submission of the defeated rebels to 
the liberal terms of the triumphant Government. I need 
hardly add, what will occur to every observer, that this is 
the prospect at a time when the South has scarcely begun 
to recover from her self-inflicted wounds, and when busi- 
ness in other parts of the United States still suffers from 
the same cause. The best index to a people's real condi- 
tion is, perhaps, the quoted values of their great national 
securities, representing, as these do, their government and 
individual wealth. If these are at a heavy discount, be 
sure the whole system is unsound ; and yet the largest 
holders and steadiest buyers of our stock are the money- 
kings of Europe, who thoroughly understand the internal 
affairs of all the governments of the world. The peaceful 
progress of reconstruction adds immeasurably to these 
glowing auspices •, and the fact that gold does not advance 
beyond 139, and that our national debt is gradually re- 
duced and new millions steadily invested in our leading 
stocks and bonds, %% the best proof that nobody believes the 
votes of the colored citizens will ever be a source of weak- 
ness to the American Republic. May the example of the 
elections in Georgetown and Washington, in the District 
of Columbia, therefore be carefully studied and faithfully 
followed in all the States of the South. 



Government of France, 147 



XXVIII.— GOVERNMENT OF EEANCE. 

HOW NAPOLEON GOVERNS — THE CORPS LEGISLATIF — ITS 
CHAMBER — HISTORIC ASSOCIATIONS — THE LEADERS OF THE 

REVOLUTION OF 1848 — HOW THE MEMBERS ARE CHOSEN 

THE SENATE — COUNCIL OF STATE — THE CABINET — NO 
FREEDOM OF SPEAKING OR WRITING — JOURNALISM IN 
FRANCE — AMERICAN COMMUNITY IN PARIS. 

Paris, June 25, 1867. 
There is a license for every thing in France but the 
license of speaking and writing against the government. 
You may be an Infidel, a Turk, a Mormon, or an Ameri- 
can rebel : you may live as you like, and die* as you choose, 
if only 3^ou observe this plain condition. The Emperor 
having taken the contract of government into his own 
hands, seems resolved to please his people in all other 
respects ; and nothing shows his sincerity more, than his 
anxiety to make Paris as agreeable to strangers as it is to 
natives. In carrying out this established policy, he pre- 
sents some startling contrasts to his British rivals. In 
England the chief blessings and privileges of government 
are enjoyed almost exclusively by the plutocracy — as Gold- 
win Smith calls the nobility — numbering about two hun- 
dred thousand, men, women, and children. These spoiled 
darlings monopolize the great body of the territory, while 
the toiling millions are denied not only what are called 
equal rights, but every thing like an equal share in the pro- 
ducts of the soil. Interior France, on the contrary, is 
divided among small landed proprietors, which fact, studied 
in view of the extraordinary success attending agricultural 
pursuits in his empire, is one of the secrets of jSTapoleon's 
strength, and a fair guarantee of his continued rule. But 



148 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

the substantial contrast between the two nations does not 
end here. In France the amusements, instead of being 
exceptional or exclusive, or the luxuries of the rich, as in 
England, are universal. The State, reserving to itself the 
serious work of government, is constantly inventing means 
of gratuitous enjoyment for the subject. The surplus 
revenues are expended upon the military establishment 
and upon popular amusements. The opera is sustained 
out of the treasury, and every encouragement is extended 
to artists, painters, poets, and composers. The palaces, 
gardens, and museums are almost constantly open to the 
public; and although labor is miserably paid, the food 
of the laboring poor is very cheap. I am not discussing 
ethics, nor trying to prove that England's austere example 
is less favorable to civilization and progress than the gay 
latitude of Erance. I am stating a simple proposition for 
the information of the reflecting reader. Having already 
affirmed that I do not believe the French will be qualified 
for political or civil liberty, as we Americans understand 
it, in many years, if ever, I leave the question how long 
any people can improve in knowledge, and consent to dele- 
gate their precious natural rights to one man, to that 
time which ' makes all things even. " 

The Emperor's government being the great political 
European problem, I tried to get a close view of it, and 
this afternoon visited the Corps Legislatif, the same as 
the House of Commons in England, and House of Repre- 
sentatives in the United States. Procuring a ticket from 
the president, I took my seat in the strangers' gallery 
about 2J o'clock, and looked down upon a strange sight to 
American eyes. The hall is very much the shape, though 
larger than our old Senate chamber, now occupied by the 
Supreme Court of the United States. Like all the public 
buildings in Paris, it is airy, well lighted, and very commo- 
dious. The seats and desks, five hundred in number, are 
raised, one row above the other, and extended back with a 



» Government of France, 149 

gradual elevation, the highest being about three feet above 
the lowest. The president's or speaker's chair, raised 
much more than our speaker's, is in the centre of the axis 
of the semicircle, so that he nearly faces the members that 
sit around the best half of the hall. He stands while stat- 
ing or taking the question, and when he demands order, 
which is nearly all the time, rings a sort of dinner-bell at 
his right hand, and calls " silence," which is echoed by 
three or four officers in uniform, above and below him. 
Over the speaker's chair or throne is the motto, which 
reads like one of Yoltaire's bitterest satires, " Vox populi, 
vox Z)el" On his left was inscribed the word "order," 
and on his right the word " liberie.'''' Although there is a 
tribune from which the members deliver their set orations, 
I observed that they spoke from their seats. The arrange- 
ment of the latter is much like our own, and infinitely 
better than that of the English House of Commons, of which 
I spoke in a former letter, and which is so defective that 
I am not surprised to see the London Times beginning to 
call for a radical change, Mexico was the order of the 
day — a subject on which the Emperor is sensitive, as it 
is at once his sorest and most exposed point. I did 
not understand what was said, but even if I had been so 
fortunate, the interruptions were so loud and frequent 
as to have rendered it almost impossible to hear. Thiers, 
Jules Favre, Simon, Garnier Pages, and other historic 
characters, were pointed out to me; but they sat like 
" State statues " — the tolerated effigies rather than the 
bold representatives of popular liberty. 

The repeated failures to establish republican govern- 
ment in France were vividly recalled as I sat in these 
galleries. It was in this very hall, after the abdication and 
flight of Louis Philippe and his Queen, on the 23d of Feb- 
ruary, 1848, that on the morning of the 24th of the same 
month the Duchess of Orleans appeared with her two sons, 
the Count of Paris and the Duke of Chartres ; and it was 



150 Colonel Forney's Letters from Europe, 

here, in pursuance of an understanding witli the deposed 
monarch, that M. Dupin moved that the deputies should 
proclaim the Count of Paris King of the French, under the 
regenc}^ of the Duchess of Orleans. The proposition was 
Instantly resisted, and the sentence, "too late," pronounced 
in a loud voice from these very galleries, heard all over the 
world, closed the Orleans dynasty, as it is now believed, for- 
ever, and gave way to the brief revolution of 1848, which 
proved to be only the preparation for the successful and 
brilliant autocracy of Louis IS'apoleon. j^ever shall I for- 
get the joyful hopes excited in the United States by that 
revolution, nor the proportionate disappointment of our 
people when they found that the American Republic was 
rejected as a model because it recognized the hated institu- 
tion of slavery. 

Where now are the men who participated in- that tran- 
sient yet for a time most pregnant event ? They are either 
dead, or banished by their own or by the act of the gov- 
ernment, Ledru Rollin resides alternately in England 
and Brussels, subsisting on the wreck of his fortune and by 
the aid of his pen. Louis Blanc is in London, a warm 
supporter of the Union cause during the American war. 
Lamartine is in complete retirement, yet not unwilling to 
subsist in elegant ease upon the charity of others. Blan- 
qui is a fugitive. Albert was sentenced to prison for polit- 
ical offences. Raspail is in Brussels. Flocon left France 
in consequence of the coup-d^etat of 1851, which also sent 
into obscurity Leroux, Caussidiere, the younger Arago, 
and others. Cavaignac, Marrast, and the elder Arago, 
are dead, I believe the only one of the original number 
now in the Corps Legislatif is Garnier Pages, and he 
wields a very slight influence in the debates. 

There are two hundred and eighty-three members "elected 
by universal suffrage,'' every six years, in the proportion 
of one to every 32,400 electors. They receive five hun- 
dred dollars a month during th-e session. The present 



Government of France, 151 

speaker and the vice-president of tlie Corps Legislatif are 
appointed by the Emperor, and serve for one year. The 
chamber is convoked, adjourned, and dissolved by the Em- 
peror. The senators are all appointed by the Ertiperor, and 
serve for life, receiving an annual salary of six thousand 
dollars. The French princes, at the age of eighteen, the 
French cardinals, marshals, and admirals are also senators, 
making the whole number one hundred and seventy -five. 
The Emperor appoints the president and vice-president of 
the Senate for one year. All the proceedings of this coun- 
cil are secret. In addition to these is the Council of State, 
also appointed by the Emperor, and composed of fortj^'-four 
persons, each at a salary of five thousand dollars per annum. 
Their business is to prepare bills for the legislative body, 
under the guidance of the Emperor. There are also seven- 
teen ordinary councillors, seven extraordinary councillors, 
forty masters of bequests, eighty auditors, and a secretar}^ 
general for the Council of State. Then comes the Cabinet 
or Council of Ministers, all of whom represent the govern- 
ment in the Senate, Corps Legislatif, or Council of State, 
and all appointed by the Emperor. When you reflect that 
the Corps Legislatif, or popular assembly, has nothing . to 
do with the bills presented to them from the Emperor's 
Senate, Council, and Cabinet, but to vote upon them, and 
that he pays, convokes, adjourns, and dissolves that body, 
you will see exactly what is meant by "universal suffrage" 
in France. 

Freedom of speech, like freedom of the press, is severely 
restrained in France ; and he who consents to serve in the 
Corps Legislatif must agree to part with much of his inde- 
pendence. No sentiment reviving the revolutionary days 
of France is permitted. Let me give 3^ou an illustrative 
Incident : A few evenings ago, in a French family, an 
air something like the Marseilles Hymn, was played on the 
piano by one of the persons present, and instantly silenced 
as treasonable. So rigid is the censorship, that speakers 

10 



152 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

in the French Congress, like writers in the French papers, 
are frequently called to account and sometimes fined for 
their boldness. To establish a new paper in Paris you 
must leave with the government, first obtaining what is 
called ''the concession," or permission to print, the sum of 
$10,000 (50,000 francs), which is retained as a guarantee 
of your fidelity. Should you persistently publish matter 
offensive to the government, your money is forfeited and 
your paper stopped. Only when your enterprise dies is 
your money returned to you. Nor is the authority to 
publish a new paper easily obtained. As another effort is 
now making to establish an American daily in Paris, I 
have had occasion to inquire into the difficulties surround- 
ing journalism in France, and to contrast them with the 
facilities enjoyed in the United States. How such a sys- 
tem operates upon an irrepressible people like the French, 
it is easy to conceive. Editorials and debates must avoid 
much that concerns the gravest human interests, and no 
man who intensely sympathizes with the great movements 
of the age can confine himself within official limits without 
the keenest sense of personal humiliation. American opin- 
ions had so little chance to reach the people of France 
under this exclusion during the war, that I wonder we are 
as well known and appreciated as we are. Galignani's 
Messenger, and of course the Ministerial journals, printed 
the worst assaults upon our country, and the *' Liberal " 
papers in Paris could not defend us without injury; and 
even now, when a better feeling prevails, Galignani never 
prints a friendly word of the United States, but delights in 
reproducing every Copperhead calumny, no matter how 
infamous, and especially in disseminating attacks upon our 
national credit. Still, we are not without earnest cham- 
pions in France. Laboulaye, Girardin, Chevalier, Jules 
Favre, and Oliver, are as devotedly attached to America as 
we could desire, but they cannot speak the thought that 
glows in their hearts" without subjecting themselves to in- 



Government of France, 153 

conceivable annoyances. It is different in England, where 
John Bright and his followers are as bold in their support 
of American principles as ourselves ; but they, too, are 
compelled to pay the penalty of their independence, even if 
they are not absolutely repressed by the monarch, as our 
compatriots here are threatened and ostracised by the aris- 
tocracy. Though there is a better understanding and a 
keener appreciation of the great principles of American de- 
mocracy among the working people of Great Britain than 
in France, it is doubtful whether a public man in England 
who openly espouses American principles does not suffer 
more than would our friends in France if they pursued the 
same course. 

This opens another view that concerns us deeply. 
Napoleon has unlearned much since his fatal expedition to 
Mexico, and it is hardly denied that he is as anxious to 
conciliate the Americans as a few years ago he was ready 
to sacrifice them. The great number of our countrymen 
now in Paris, and the thousands steadily streaming here, 
have almost established an American community in his 
brilliant and idolized capital. They are unquestionably 
superseding the English, and by their liberality and public 
spirit have once more become the acknowledged favorites 
of the people. I see American customs everywhere imitated 
or conciliated. The American circus — with the glorious 
stars and stripes embodied in flags and costumes, its 
American airs played by the orchestra (not including 
" Dixie," which, according to the lamented Lincoln, a few 
days before he was murdered, we captured with the rest of 
the ** properties " of the Confederacy), its American actors 
and habits — is crowded every night. The magnificent 
Grand Hotel, the finest in Europe, is coining money by its 
adoption of many of the American rules, including a bril- 
liant table-d^hote like our own Continental, There are many 
more advertisements for American customers than for the 
English, and there is not a "concierge" or merchant who 



1 54 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

does not prefer ' dealing with Americans. The French 
steamers between New York and Brest full of passengers, 
and the American and Inman lines, touching at Havre, 
Queenstown, Southampton,^ and Liverpool, carry there pas- 
sengers more for the benefit of Trance than England. Facts 
like these cannot escape the consideration of a shrewd 
statesman like the Emperor. They will undoubtedly add 
to the remorse with which he recalls his intrigues with the 
Confederacy, and his attempt to establish a monarchy in 
Mexico. They will not incite him to the new folly of dis- 
regarding a people capable of such tremendous achieve- 
ments in war and such tremendous developments in peace. 
Louis Napoleon professed to be a Democrat before he 
Ibecame Emperor, and the man who boasts that his empire 
is founded on ''universal suffrage" cannot be the sincere 
enemy of a nation which, after defeating a foe far more 
formidable than any that ever attacked himself, is now 
adding to the wealth of Paris, and so contributing to the 
material prosperity of France. 



XXIX.— DOMESTIC LIFE IN FHANCE. 

PHILADELPHIAN MECHANICS — THE PRODUCING CLASSES IN 
FRANCE — LIVING IN PARIS — VISIT TO M. LABOULAYE, 

AUTHOR OF " PARIS IN AMERICA " HIS HOMESTEAD NEAR 

VERSAILLES — HIS PRO-AMERICAN WRITINGS. 

Paris, June 29, 1867, 

Although there is n°ot an hour I live in a foreign land 
and not a thing I see that does not intensify my love for 
my own country, what most confirms this affection is the 
incalculable superiority of the whole system of domestic 
life in the United States over that of England and France. 



Domestic Life in France, 155 

It is easy to say that I have nowhere found the working- 
people "as well off" as our own — for the foreigners them- 
selves admit that — but the contrast is so painful, that as 
you dwell upon it it fills you with solicitude for those who 
develop the wealth of these old countries. The comfortable 
dwellings of the mechanics of Philadelphia have not onlj' 
no counterpart in England, but when I have spoken of 
them in connection with the subject of Labor, my state- 
ment has been received as the romance of some fairy-land. 
The idea of a workingman living in a brick house, with 
water brought to his door, and frequently with his own 
gas and bath, for what is paid for two stifling rooms in a 
narrow street of overswollen London, was a revelation hard 
to believe ; and when I added that many a mechanic in 
America accumulated sufficient before he was thirty years 
old to buy his own homestead, I frequently saw that in- 
credulity succeeded surprise. I have already alluded to 
the appalling difference between the agricultural popula- 
tion of England and that of the United States, and especially 
to the fact that the annual rent which many a small farmer 
in Great Britain pays to his noble landlord would almost 
buy a homestead in one of our populous States, near the 
finest markets in the world. And all this without touching 
the great Irish ulcer of measureless* and almost incurable 
suffering. 

The domestic life of France, and especially of Paris, is 
so strange that you can compare it to nothing in England, 
much less in America. I do not refer merely to the life of 
the producing classes, who are, at least for the present, 
content with their bread, vegetables, and sour wine, 
savored as these are by endless public sports, but to those 
who occupy the middle walks, and even to families in the 
higher circles. A house for one family, if not almost un- 
known in France, is confined to the wealthy, and is called 
" a hotel." The very best society lives in apartments on 
one floor, including bed-rooms, dining-rooms, kitchen, &c., 



156 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

and of these floors there are never less than three, and fre- 
quently five, not counting the ground floor, or first story, 
where the "concierge," or porter, lives with his family, to 
watch and keep the place in order, collect the rents, and 
let in visitors. In the quarter where I am stajdng these 
establishments are generall}^ new and neat, but elsewhere 
they are mostl}' inconceivably old and foul. It is common 
for the family of the porter to live on the same level with 
the horses of the people up-stairs, and so both higher and 
lower occupants enjoy the same doubtful effluvia. When 
you ascend to the third or fourth flight j^ou are amazed to 
find so much light and luxury over so much filth. Yester- 
da}^ I called to see a distinguished friend, who lives on a 
fourth floor ; and before I found him I had to pass through 
a damp j^ard, a foul stable, and to ring at least four bells, 
on as many landings, the "concierge," or porteress, having 
directed me in unintelligible French from a little hole 
through the cell of a room in which she sat like the grim 
keeper of a nunnerj^ As the several occupants of these 
penitentiaries almost never know each other, you can 
imagine the social advantages of the system, not only in 
the aspect that protects all sorts of vice, but in that which 
makes human beings utterly strange and callous to each 
other's interests or sufi"erings. In our countr}^ and in 
England it often happens that people who live in the same 
street are not acquainted with each other. Think, how- 
ever, of living in the same house for years, and knowing no 
more of the lodger above or below you than if he lived on 
another planet ! But if all this is true of the wealthier 
classes, the evil is worse as you descend into what are 
called the lower walks of life. 

The population of Paris is largely over two millions ; and 
you have only to pass along the boulevards or great avenues 
at night, or to glance into the gardens and cafes, to realize 
that most of this mass of humanity lives on the streets 
rather than at home, and also that when forced to seek 



Domestic Life in France, 157 

shelter it is under circumstances utterly destructive of all 
morals, if not of all comfort and health. Tall old tene- 
ments that hold colonies, standing in narrow alleys from 
which the occupants can nearly shake hands from opposite 
windows, are suggestive of a condition that needs only an 
allusion to show the infinite superiority of American habits 
and American homes. 

But there are homes in France, seats of domestic happi- 
ness and comfort, and one of these I enjoyed a few days 
ago. Every true American has heard of Professor Edouard 
Rene Lefebre Laboulaye, the opponent of Slavery long 
before it openly attacked the Republic, and the champion 
of Freedom throughout the American war. Having fol- 
lowed his career and read his writings with the gratitude 
of my countrymen, I took an early opportunity to make 
his acquaintance, and enjoyed last Wednesday afternoon 
with his family and himself. They reside in the neighbor- 
hood of Versailles, and the cordiality of my welcome was 
not less agreeable than the simplicity and elegance with 
which I was entertained. I saw home as we understand it 
in America, for the first time (with several never-to-be- 
forgotten exceptions) since I landed in Europe. The house 
is very much like the country residence of a gentleman in 
America, and the grounds belonging to it, beautiful in 
themselves, have been made more beautiful by careful and 
intelligent culture Here, in the midst of his family, the 
friend of America pursues his studies and prepares those 
thoughtful lectures which are attended by crowds of the 
young workingmen and women of Paris. Nearly every 
member of his family talked English, and, as my country 
was the subject of most of their inquiries, I soon felt my- 
self among friends. The interest they took in every thing- 
American was surpassed by the Professor's extraordinary 
knowledge of our people and our institutions. His table 
was covered with the testimonials of the grateful recollec- 
tion of his services in the cause of the Union ; and his 



158 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

diploma as a member of the great IJniorL League of Phila- 
delphia (of which and our compatriots in that mighty 
brotherhood it gave me great pleasure to speak at length) ; 
his letters from Sumner, Everett, Lowell, Governor Andrew, 
and his splendid photographic album of the leading Radi- 
cals of the United States, with many other similar evi- 
dences, were enshrined among his household gods. Quiet, 
gentle, and unobtrusive, I soon understood what a noble 
heart beat in the scholar's bosom, and that, like thousands 
more in this country, he cultivates the hope that the day 
is not far distant when the great Kepublic, now purified of 
slavery, will become the model, no matter how resisted, of 
the people, and indeed of the rulers, of France. This could 
not be while slavery was encouraged and protected ; but 
now that the monster has been consumed in the fires of the 
rebellion, even from its ashes new and more powerful 
aspirations have been born. 

I could now understand how M. Laboulaye had written 
his remarkable book, " Paris in America." He has never 
visited us ; but here, in the shape of a magnetic dream, is 
one of the closest and most philosophical inner views of 
American life, habits, opinions, and peculiarities, ever read 
or written. The reason was that he had become wholly 
possessed of his theme, and that his affection for human 
liberty, cultivated by study of American books and earnest 
intercourse with American men, had been strengthened in 
intense convictions, until he saw almost as clearly with the 
eye of his mind as with his physical vision. Having, since 
my stay in Paris, enjoyed a second perusal of his wonderful 
book, I have realized how startlingiy great is the contrast 
he paints between the disadvantages and privations of the 
laboring poor of France and the working millions of 
America. And as I began this letter to impress that very 
idea upon my readers, I cannot do better than to ask them 
to buy and study the fascinating pages of this volume, 
which has been faithfully translated by Miss Mary L. 



Domestic Life in France. 159 

Booth, and introduced by a genial sketch of the esteemed 
author. It is for sale by all our booksellers. 

If they desire to have a fine contrasted picture of French 
and American domestic life, municipal government, civil 
rights, and national policy, they will find it in '' Paris 
in America." It is one of the best satires of any language. 
Professor Laboulaye is about fifty-six years old, and looks 
much 3^oung8r. He is an advocate in the Royal Court of 
Paris, but confi^nes himself chiefly to literary and philo- 
sophical pursuits. Among his numerous works are " The 
Political History of the United States from 1620 to 1183 ;" 
" Contemporary Studies on Germany and the Sclavic 
Nations;" "Religious Liberty;" " Moral and Political. 
Studies ;" '' Paris in America ;" " The Social Works of 
Channing," preceded by an essay on his life and doctrines ; 
and " Slavery in the United States." He is also editor of 
several legal works, and contributes largely to the great 
French reviews. As showing how profoundly our philoso- 
pher has studied human character, I need only tell you 
that the author of all these serious disquisitions, is also the 
same whose fairy tales for children have delighted so many 
Amei-ican firesides. But it is his public lectures on great 
questions that do most good to the cause of humanity. 
Many have wondered that he has not been prohibited from 
such powerful writing and speaking to the people of Paris, 
especially as he has been denied the right to address his 
own neighbors of Yersailles. But then there can be no 
profit in proscribing a man whose politics are a part of 
his religion, and who labors solely for the welfare of his 
race ; who so fully believes what he says, and says it so 
much like a gentleman and a Christian, that it would re- 
quire a blind tyrant indeed to proscribe one who has no 
fears for himself when he speaks God's holy truth to an 
eager people. 



1 6o Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 



XXX.— PEIZES OF THE EXPOSITION 
DISTRIBUTED. 

PALACE OF INDUSTRY — CHAMPS ELYSEES — ^IMPERIAL CELEBRI- 
TIES — NAPOLEON, EUGENIE AND THE PRINCE IMPERIAL 

PRINCE NAPOLEON — THE SULTAN — HONORS TO PENNSYLVA- 
NIANS THE FUTURE OF FRANCE. 

Paris, July 3, 1867. 

The natural and most satisfactory theory that the world's 
progress has elevated alike the ruler and the ruled -till even 
the highest is forced to learn something and the lowest is 
raised to a better condition, had a significant exemplifi- 
cation yesterday at the Palace of Industry, on the occasion 
of the distribution of the prizes by the Emperor Napoleon 
to the successful competitors at the great Universal Ex- 
position ; and I did not attempt to restrain my grateful 
reflections that every people capable of such works as 
those which received the rewards of a mighty sovereign 
and the applause of intelligent representatives from all 
parts of the earth must, sooner or later, win for them- 
selves those sacred rights without which there can be 
no complete civilization. These were the trophies of the 
intellect ; and not the product of the student, or the phi- 
losopher only, but of the subject agencies — the offspring 
of popular labor inspired by the best intelligence ; and well 
might the thoughtful student anticipate the day when the 
numbers capable of such achievements would be armed with 
all those attributes without which Man can never fulfil his 
appointed mission. Let us hope that day is not far off. 
When kings do not hesitate to study the great works of 
industry, alike for self-interest and self-instruction, they 
come very near to their peoples ; and if the practice begun 



Prizes of the Exposition Distributed. i6i 

by the English Prince Consort, followed by Louis IS'apoleon, 
and commended by the personal presence of nearlj'^ all the 
royal persons of the world, is maintained and improved 
upon, as it promises to be, there are those living who may 
yet see the franchises freely conceded that have heretofore 
been bitterly and bloodily denied. I need not dwell upon 
other views of the picture ; but if there is any logic in 
events, it is clear that, as the masses become cunning 
proficients in what is called " skilled labor," they cannot 
always be treated as inferiors, or kept from the regulated 
enjoyment of their political privileges — privileges conferred 
by their Maker, and in the power of no human being 
stubbornly to withhold. 

Imagine to yourself the full half of Washington or Inde- 
pendence Square enclosed with an arched roof or canopy 
of glass, like that of the Crystal Palace at New York, only 
higher and more commanding, springing in its marvellous 
tracery from four sides, and hanging, like a mighty balloon, 
as if suspended by invisible hands in mid- air. The whole 
space was an oblong square, with the ground-floor divided 
into walks and flower-gardens, and twenty-five thousand 
spectators seated along the three sides — that to the east 
having been set apart to the orchestra and chorus, 
numbering over twelve hundred persons. In the north 
centre was the throne, composed of crimson velvet, rising 
half way to the roof, and crowned with the Imperial 
diadem. The three seats for the Emperor, Empress, and 
the Sultan were raised above the rest, while on the right 
were places for the Prince Imperial and Prince Napoleon, 
and on both sides chairs for other members of the royal 
family. There was no noise, no confusion on entering and 
taking seats, so admirable were the arrangements for 
receiving and accommodating the vast concourse. The 
various delegations representing the chief features of the 
Exposition began to arrive about one o'clock, and soon 
the ground-floor space was partly occupied. 



1 62 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

At half-past one o'clock the spectators had gathered, 
and the hall was full. These delegations were composed 
of the persons who had won the grand prizes, gold and 
silver medals-, and " honorable mentions " by decree of the 
Imperial Commission ; and they stood, with their respective 
banners, awaiting the arrival of Napoleon, Eugenie, the 
Sultan, and the other members of the royal party. Punc- 
tuality is one of the attributes of all military governments, 
and especially of the French ruler; and . precisely at the 
appointed hour — two o'clock — the Emperor and suite 
appeared from behind the crimson curtains at the back and 
side of the throne, and advanced, amid the ''all hail" of 
the orchestra and chorus and the acclamations of the spec- 
tators, to the front of the crimson platform, where, after 
standing a few moments, they took their seats in the order 
mentioned. 

I wish I could describe the spectacle at this moment I The 
music itself, composed by the renowned Rossini, now living 
in Paris, in the seventy-fifth year of his age, was wonder- 
fully rendered. It was set to a grand triumphal hymn, in 
honor of the occasion and of the Emperor, as the projector 
of the Exposition; and even my ear, untuned to opera 
harmonies, could detect in those thrilling strains, alter- 
nately sweet and swelling, the same mind that had wrought 
''Tancredi," " The Barber of Seville," ''William Tell," 
and the immortal " Stabat Mater." Rossini himself, who 
was present, could not have been otherwise than pleased 
by the wild enthusiasm awakened by the manner in which 
this, his last, and believed to be among his greatest works, 
was received. 

At the close of the hymn or mass, which called out the 
accumulated instrumental and vocal force of the performers, 
and seemed to be a combination of military and religious 
airs — a mingling of thanksgiving to God and exultation in 
the genius of man — the ceremonies commenced. Instantly 
every eye was turned and every glass levelled upon the 



Prizes of the Exposition Distributed. 163 

occupants of the throne. I will not speak of the address, 
to the Emperor, of the President of the Exposition, M. 
Rouher, detailing the result of the labors of the Imperial 
Commission, and anticipating the presentation of the prizes, 
nor the Emperor's reply ; but the latter is full of remark- 
able concessions to freedom. Where I sat I could see 
satisfactorily, but it was not so easy to hear, even if I had 
understood French. 

The Emperor spoke louder than M. Rouher, who is also 
his Minister of State, and with considerable animation and 
French gesticulation. He looked well, though with the 
pallor of his Italian ancestry, and spoke like a man in capi- 
tal health. His nose is very prominent, and his eyes, when 
lighted up, lose the glassiness of which so much is said. He 
is of medium height, brown hair, alert in his movements, 
and exceedingly graceful. Louis Napoleon will be sixty 
on the 20th of April next year ; and as I compared him with 
Prince Napoleon, who is fourteen years younger, he looked 
as if destined to enjoy more of the coming time than his 
cousin, the son of Jerome. The Empress, who was forty- 
one on the 5th of May, is a very elegant woman, with a 
countenance eminently interesting and serene. She car- 
ries her age well. A lady friend says : 

The Empress was attired in white. White satin almost covered 
with les garnitures of illusion and lace, which on the left side was 
somewhat looped by a bow and sash. On the left shoulder she 
wore a rosette of purple, and a few folds of the same color trimmed 
the waist and skirt — the latter, excessively long, hanging grace- 
fully and becomingly. White crown and pendent veil served to 
form a suitable completion to a charming toilette. Her ornaments 
consisted of pearls. 

The Prince Imperial, who was eleven on the 16th of 
March last, is what the girls would call a sweet little fel- 
low, with the olive complexion and face of an Italian ; black 
hair, and black eyes, and very graceful in his movements. 
As a gold medal was being handed to the Emperor, as a 



1 64 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

prize for the artisans' dwellings he had exhibited, it fell 
on the floor before the throne, creating some confusion. 
The petit Prince and future ruler ran from his seat, picked 
up the token, and handed it to his father in the midst of 
''rounds of applause." He wore red pantaloons and a 
black velvet frock coat. 

Prince Napoleon was a startling likeness of his great 
uncle, and as he stood directly before me I thought I had 
never seen a more impressive figure. He has grown obese, 
and his face wears that settled and gloomy look peculiar 
to the First Consul. There are stories of alienation 
between the two cousins, but as the Prince is now here 
presiding at the Commission for the Unification of the 
Currency of the World, and was present yesterday, they 
cannot mean much. I find, however, that he has quite a 
party at his back, and is generally conceded to possess a 
cultivated and inquiring mind. He takes a great interest 
in the progress of the substantial arts, and is known to be 
more " democratic " than the Emperor ; but then, as the 
French shrewdly have it, " the ruler is always the conserv- 
ative — it is the candidate only who can afford to be radi- 
cal." 

The Sultan is a fine-looking person — short stature, portly 
presence full black beard, and a clear eye — and was dressed 
in a blue frock coat, richly embroidered with gold. As the 
expectants of imperial honors approached the throne, the 
assembled thousands, attired in their best, with the blended 
fashions of all nations, old and new, Oriental and European 
— the costumes of the military made more dazzling in con- 
trast with the dark colors of the clergy — the great orchestra, 
thundering its loud, yet well-concerted harmonies ; the 
birds twittering in the foliage of the gardens ; the banners 
of all countries, the *' stars and stripes " shining out, to my 
eyes at least, from all the rest, like an angelic emblem res- 
cued from the fiend of rebellion — it was a sight worthy of 



Prizes of the Exposition Distributed. 165 

the poet and the painter, and I abandoned the attempt at 
delineation. 

You have already had, as I learn from Mr Beckwith, the 
United States Commissioner-in-Chief, a telegraphic account 
of the number of prizes, medals, and honors awarded to 
the American exhibitors. I felt proud to see that Penn- 
sylvania was not behind her sisters, though her magnificent 
wealth of Nature and Industry is so poorly illustrated in 
the Exposition. We may claim- the high prize to Dr. T. 
W. Evans as doubly ours, for he is a citizen of our State, 
and his sanitary collection is filled with the memorials of 
the benevolence and munificence of Philadelphia. Other 
honors have been conferred upon Pennsylvanians ; and I 
feel morally certain that if there is ever another world's 
display like the present, we shall only need reasonable care 
and attention to increase the number of our prizes. And 
if I am living in that day, there shall be no failure, if I can 
prevent it by earnest invocation to prepare and to organize. 

There was a multiform significance in the distribution of 
these prizes by the Emperor of imperial France His 
speech disclosed not only his policy of making other poten- 
tates and peoples tributary to him, but spoke a louder and 
more athletic eloquence in its recognition of Human Inven- 
tions, Labor, and Industry. And as I saw the candidates 
approach the throne to receive their medals, and heard the 
vast saloon resounding with cheers as each retired proud 
of his decoration, I thought of the days of the Man-killers, 
and welcomed the future of the Man-liberators. How 
much better to see toil elevated and enfranchised, genius 
and invention encouraged and crowned, than the customs 
of the past, when the monarch conceived no better destiny 
for his people than to use them for his pleasure in peace 
and for his revenge in war ? How much holier to reward 
them for their success in the moral and material arts — their 
emulation in charity, in mechanics, in science — than to 
debase them into the slaves of their own passions, or into 



1 66 Colonel Forney 5 Letters from Europe, 

the murderers of their own brethren ? And as I passed 
out from the great Palace of Industry and saw. half a mil- 
lion of j)eople surging through the gardens of the Champs 
El3^sees and along the splendid ways and walks of the 
great squares and Boulevards, and remembered that all 
tliis was as much a recognition of Human Labor as a French 
feast of pleasure, I asked mj'-self whether Napoleon might 
not be consciously fitting even his volatile people for a 
genuine democratic government ? A ruler with only a 
feeble dynasty, he ma}^ graduallj^ be preparing to find 
the future sovereign of his Great Empire in the realized 
motto which he has inscribed, let us hope not in mockery, 
over the President's chair in the Corps Legislatif: "The 
voice of the People is the voice of GocV^ 



XXXI.— TOMBS OF NAPOLEON AND 
LAFAYETTE. 

CHURCH OF THE INVALIDES — DESCRIPTION OF NAPOLEON'S 
TOMB AND ITS SURROUNDINGS — ARCH OF TRIUMPH — 
GRAVE OF LAFAYETTE IN THE FAMILY CEMETERY. 

VABi^.July 6, 1867. 

A few days ago, lured hj one of those beautiful mornings 
so common in France, I paid a visit to the gorgeous tomb of 
Napoleon the First, in the Eglise or Church of the Invalides, 
undoubtedly the most significant of all the monuments 
erected in his honor. The church itself was built and finished 
in 170G, and the tomb of Napoleon is flanked by two sarco- 
phagi iQs>i\ng\r^o\\ plinths, and surmounted by two Corinth- 
ian columns crowned with the segmentary abutments — one 



Tombs of Napoleon and Lafayette, 167 

dedicated to Marshal Duroc, the other to Marshal Bertrand, 
the Emperor's friends during his adversity. A bronze door 
gives access to the crypt over it, and on a black marble 
slab are the following words, quoted from the Emperor's 
will : 

I desire that my ashes repose on the borders of the Seine, in 
the midst of the French people, whom I have loved so well. 

It is impossible to describa the effect of this extraordi- 
nary combination of art. Two colossal bronze female 
giants stand at the entrance of the tomb, holding in their 
hands the sceptre and the Imperial crown. These are 
Caryatides, and are thus explained by the historian : " The 
Athenians had been long at war with the Caryans. The 
latter being at length vanquished and their wives led cap- 
tive, the Greeks, to perpetuate the event, erected trophies 
in the figures of women dressed in Caryatic manner, which 
were used to support entablatures." The gallery running 
under the altar leads to the crypt, dimly lighted \ij funereal 
lamps of bronze, and adorned by bas-reliefs representing 
the Termination of Civil War, the Concordat, the Reform 
of the Administration, the Council of State, the Code, the 
University, the Court of Accounts, the Encouragement of 
Trade and Commerce, Public Works, and the Legion of 
Honor, all proofs of the extraordinary versatility and 
energy of the first Emjperor. The pavement is decorated 
with a crown of laurels in mosaic, within which, in a black 
circle, are inscribed the names of his brilliant victories : 
Rivoli, the Pyramids, Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland, 
Wagram, and Moscow. Twelve colossal statues, repre- 
senting as many more victories, stand against the pilas- 
ters facing the tomb itself. The tomb consists of two 
immense monoliths of porphyry, weighing 135,000 pounds, 
and brought from Finland at a cost of 140,000 francs. It 
covers the sarcophagus, also of a single block, twelve feet 
long and six in breadth, resting upon two plinths, which 

II 



1 68 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

stand upon a block of green granite, brought from the 
Vosges. The total height of the tomb is 13 J feet. In the 
gallery which encircles the crypt is a recess containing the 
sword the Emperor wore at Austerlitz, the insignia he used 
on state occasions, the crown of gold voted by the town of 
Cherbourg, and colors taken in different battles. At the 
furthest end of the recess is the statue of the Emperor in 
his imperial robes. This reliquaire is closed with gilt 
doors, and the whole is only visible to the people from the 
circular parapet above. 

Here, standing in silent and reverential groups, they gaze 
down upon the magnificent memorial, and read the fervent 
words of the man whom one of our poets thus apostro- 
phized in the zenith of his fame. These glowing lines, 
written many years ago by the eccentric Isaac Clawson, 
of New York, who died in Paris, under very sad circum- 
stances, echoed the feelings of many at the time they ap- 
peared, and came back to me vividly as I saw the feeling 
of the French people for Napoleon, and dwelt upon his own 
eventful career: 

Napoleon Bonaparte ! thy name shall live 
Till time's last echo shall have ceased to sound;' 

And if eternity's confines can give 
To space reverberation, round and round 

The spheres of heaven, the long, deep cry of "Yive 
Napoleon I" in thunders shall rebound; 

The lightning's flash shall blaze thy name on high, 

Monarch of earth, now meteor of the sky ! 

Farewell, Napoleon ! thine hour is past ; 

No more earth trembles at thy dreaded name ; 
But France, unhappy France, shall long contrast 

Thy deeds with those of worthless D'Angouleme. 
Ye gods ! how long shall slavery's thraldom last ? 

Will France alone remain for ever tame ? 
Say, will no Wallace, will no Washington 
Scourge from thy soil the infamous Bourbon ? 



Tombs of Napoleon and Lafayette, 169 

Pity for thee shall weep her fountains dry, 
,. Mercy for thee shall bankrupt all her store ; 
Valor shall pluck a garland from on high, 

And Honor twine the wreath thy temples o'er. 
Beauty shall beckon to thee from the sky, 

And smiling seraphs open wide heaven's door ; 
Around thy head the brightest stars shall meet, 
And rolling suns play sportive at thy feet. 

Farewell, Napoleon, a long farewell ! 

A stranger's tongue, alas ! must hymn thy worth ; 
No craven Gaul dares wake his harp to tell 

Or sound in song the spot that gave thee birth ; 
No more thy name, that with its magic spell 

Aroused the slumbering nations of the earth, 
Echoes around thy land; 'tis past — at length 
France sinks beneath the sway of Charles the Tenth. 

The marble of this monument and the entire expense 
amounted to 9,000,000 francs, nearly $2,000,000. When 
the imperial ashes of Napoleon were transferred to the sar- 
cophagus, on the 2d of April, 1861, having been brought 
from the island of St. Helena, by the Prince of Joinville, in 
December, 1840, his imperial nephew marked the event as 
a pageant of extraordinary and memorable magnificence. 
In selecting the Church des Invalides he seemed to have 
been directed by the highest inspiration, for the introduc- 
tion to the altar or tomb is crowded with historic art. The 
interior of the church is circular, with the branches of a 
Greek cross extending in the direction of the four cardinal 
points, each having three lofty arched entrances, one of 
which faces the centre of the church, now occupied by a circu- 
lar parapet surrounding the crypt which contains the tomb 
of Napoleon. Above this rises the dome, resting on four 
main arches, in the pendentives of which are paintings of 
the four Evangelists. This interior is gorgeously decor- 
ated with medallions, portraits, and statues, beginning with 
the early French Emperors and ending with Louis XIY. 
The chapels and transepts are no less splendidlj^ decorated. 



1 70 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

In one chapel stands the tomb of Joseph of Spain, the 
eldest brother of Napoleon, consisting of a sarcophagus of 
black marble with white veins. In the adjoining transept 
is a monument to Yauban, consisting of a sarcophagus of 
black marble, on which the figure of Yauban reclines. 
Two statues, representing Genius and Prudence, stand 
beside the hero. Next, the Chapel of St. Ambrose, in six 
compartments, representing as man}^ passages in the life 
of that saint. Then the transept of the monument to 
Turenne. The last chapel, dedicated to Saint Jerome, has 
paintings of various incidents in his career. To the left is 
the tomb of King Jerome, a black marble sarcophagus 
resting on clawed feet of gilt bronze. Then there is an 
altar, behind which is seen a small sarcophagus containing 
the heart of the Queen of Westphalia, and to the right a 
monument in the same style as that of the King, covering 
the mortal remains of the young Prince Jerome. On one 
of the piers there is a marble monument to Marshal d'Ar- 
naud, and then a high altar ascended by ten steps of white 
marble ; the altar table is of black marble, surmounted by 
four spiral columns of the same material, black and white, 
supporting a canopy, all profusely gilt. It is by a winding 
staircase on each side of the high altar that you descend to 
the tomb of Napoleon. Although the tomb is open several 
days in the week to the public, yet on the morning we visited 
it crowds were j)ouring in and out precisely as if it were 
being exhibited for the first time. These were composed 
not only of strangers but of the country people, and the 
intensity with which they studied all these gorgeous mon- 
uments and dwelt upon the engraved inscription upon the 
marble tomb showed that the present Emperor's design in 
erecting this imposing sepulchre was completely successful. 
Dwelling upon these expensive and enduring tributes to 
an inventive and ambitious soul, I thought of the great 
Arc de Triomphe on the elevation of the Champs d'Elysees, 
leading to the Bois de Boulogne, with its magnificent ave- 



Tombs of Napoleon and Lafayette, ' 171 

nues extending star-like to every point of the compass, 
some of which are called after the names of the great men 
who fought at his side ; of Louis Napoleon's own figure, 
multiplied in canvas and in marble, in battle-pieces and in 
groups, at his uncle's side, and asked myself how long the 
present line would endure, weakening as it was with the 
increasing years of the present ruler, and depending prob- 
ably upon the life of his only son. The veneration of the 
French for those who have illustrated their history, how- 
ever fervent in years gone by, may fail in the severer pro- 
cesses of modern intelligence ; and it is barely possible that 
the military and civic achievements of the great man who 
now reposes in silent, although not in solitary grandeur, 
may not be remembered any longer than that of the plain, 
unpretending patriot Gilbert de Mortier Lafayette, who 
sleeps in the little family cemetery of an Augustine con- 
vent occupied by the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. 

It was afternoon when we reached the tomb of Lafayette. 
How different the scene from that I had just quitted ! In- 
stead of crowds — some going to gratify curiosity and 
others to cultivate a national pride — we were introduced 
by a solitary priest, who showed us the way to the humble 
enclosure, and pointed out the dark tablet upon which was 
engraved the name of the friend of my country in the days 
that tried men's souls. A procession of children and 
young girls, clad in white, were arranging their altars in 
the arbors of the grounds for some Catholic festival ; and 
as they placed their candles and wove their wreaths for 
the coming celebration, few seemed to know the obj ect of 
our visit, and all observed us with wondering eyes. 
Around the tomb of Napoleon were gathered the sculp- 
tured effigies of the great men of the past — the Emperors 
who preceded him in the long-gone years and the heroes who 
followed him in his meteoric career, by his companions in 
arms, by his family, ennobled by his valor, and by the saints 
of the Church in whose faith he died. No such grim warriors 



172 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

watched over the ashes of Lafayette. Yet he was not 
without companions ; for in an adjoining enclosure I was 
pointed to the remains of several victims of the Reign of 
Terror, during which he figured with a bravery hardly less 
conspicuous than his valor as the defender of American 
liberty. That dreadful and that stormy period ! the har- 
vest of the seed sown by the luxurious Louis XY. and his 
contempora.ries and flatterers, and ripened in the full blaze 
of the struggle for American independence I Yet history 
calls upon us to be just and grateful, and while we remem- 
ber Napoleon for ceding to us the great empire of Louisi- 
ana, let us not forget his predecessor, Louis XYL, who 
sent his navy to our relief in a dark hour, in response to 
the importunities of the young and graceful patrician who 
inspired the simple eloquence of Franklin, and proffered 
his own life and his fortune to the cause of national liberty 
in the New World. The contrast was healthful ; and when 
we parted from the quiet and obliging priest, it was with 
real satisfaction that we accorded to his request and left 
our names, so that the living representative of Lafayette, 
who came regularly to visit the tomb of his ancestor, would 
know that if he was not fervently recollected in France, 
he was keenly and gratefully remembered in the United 
States. 



Chamber of the French Senate. 173 



XXXII.— CHAMBER OF THE FRENCH 

SENATE. 

THE SEMI-CIRCULAR HALL — INTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS — THE 
PEOPLE EXCLUDED — HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS — CONSTITU- 
TION OF THE SENATE — DEBATES ON THE MEXICAN QUES- 
TION — MAXIMILIAN'S DEFEAT AND DEATH. 

Paris, July 8, 1867. 
The French Senate Chamber is better arranged, in some 
respects, than onr own at Washington. There are no seats 
for spectators, but the superior accommodations for the 
members are evident at a glance. The hall is semi-circu- 
lar, ninety-two feet in diameter, covered by a semi-spheri- 
cal canopy beautifully decorated by allegories of Law 
Justice, Wisdom, and Patriotism. The canopy is sup- 
ported by eight composite columns. In a semi-circular 
recess are the seats of the President and Secretaries, ap- 
proached by steps. The cupola of this recess is supported 
by eight columns, between which are statues of certain 
orthodox French statesmen and marshals. The tables of 
the stenographers are near the seats of the Senators, of 
whom there are one hundred and sixty-five. These seats 
rise gradually, and are spacious, with a neat desk before 
each. Prince Napoleon's seat is the first of the bottom 
row, near the entrance to the right, and next follow those 
of the Cardinals and Marshals, who are also Senators. 
Opposite, in a row, fronting the President's chair, are 
seven seats for the Minister of State, the President of the 
Council of State, and the counsellors appointed to support 
the measures proposed by the Government. Directly be- 
low the President's seat is the tribune, from which the 
Senators speak when they make an elaborate argument or 
oration. The arrangements are admirable, with the ex- 



174 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

ception of the significant exclusion of the people. The 
light is soft, and the ventilation and acoustics (I was told) 
as perfect as art and money can make them. This is a 
historical hall. After the revolution of ITSQ-'OS, the Di- 
rectory that succeeded Robespierre had their sessions here, 
and when Bonaparte came in, the Consuls met here, 
and then the " Senate Conservators," who sat until the 
erection of the Chamber of Peers, in 1819. Louis Blanc 
held his Socialist meeting of workmen here in 1848, but 
since 1852 it has resumed its old name and been devoted 
to its old purposes. The Senators are all appointed by 
the Emperor, and their sessions are secret, though the 
debates, like those of the Corps Legislatif, are regularly 
given to the public. 

The late discussions, even in the Senate, and of course 
in the more popular branch, called out by the enormous 
military expenses, chiefly the result of the fatal Mexican 
expedition, have been so violent and so clear an echo of an 
angry public sentiment, that some say the Emperor may 
exercise his prerogative, and, for the sake of the public 
peace and his own safety, prorogue both bodies. As the 
execution of Maximilian has not been formally reached in 
either branch, a good deal of anxiety prevails as to how 
that event will be treated. Already there are some signifi- 
cant indications. His fate was by no means unprovoked, 
and the severe repressive laws of the Emperor have not 
restrained the publication of his atrocious order of 1865, 
pronouncing a traitor's doom upon all who, assisted the 
Liberal cause, followed \>y the letter of the martyrs to that 
cruel decree. Emile Girardin, the veteran editor of La 
Liberie, and the ardent friend of our country, whose valu- 
able acquaintance I have made, has gone so far in the 
avowal of his opinions on this point, that some of his 
friends fear he may again be "interdicted." Up to this 
time the feeling most prevalent is commiseration for the 
fate of the young Austrian, and it seems to be believed 



Chamber of the French Senate, ly^ 

that most of tlie European courts will refuse all inter- 
course with the government of Juarez as a rebuke of the 
latter — a step of supreme folly if it is taken, and one that 
may be fearfully avenged. For, rest assured, as the facts of 
the case reach the ears of mankind, the present feeling of 
pity for the sacrificed Maximilian will soon be lost in horror 
at our savageries of his own officers, and anger at the 
attempt to establish a monarchj?- in Mexico, in the belief 
that our American Government- was destined to inevitable 
destruction. 

That the Emperor is heartily sick of that mad venture 
he does not conceal from anybody; and if there is any 
expiation for the wrong itself, his candor in admitting his 
blunder will do much to affect the judgment of the world. 
I do not believe, therefore, that he is willing to resort to 
severe measures against even his own Senators, much less 
against so independent a journalist as Girardin, if they 
refuse to outlaw Mexico for visiting Maximilian's remedy 
upon himself The attempt in some quarters to hold the 
United States responsible for the death of the usurper is 
simply infamous, and yet it has been seriously made. Of 
course the Emperor Napoleon cannot encourage an accusa- 
tion so monstrous. He must know and admit that the 
very best thing for himself was the demand of the Ameri- 
can people for the withdrawal of his troops from Mexico. 
Had that demand not been made, he would have been 
forced to maintain his army in Mexico at an enormous ex- 
pense, to be finally overwhelmed, or to be driven out in 
disgrace without the benefit of a handsome diplomatic sur- 
render, and such a course might have been followed by a 
war with the triumphant army of the United States, or by 
a fatal revolution among a people who were opposed to his 
experiment to force a monarchy upon a reluctant and a free, 
nation. If Maximilian is the victim, it is surely not the 
fault of a Government which not only saved the French 
army from defeat in Mexico by inviting it to retire, but 



176 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

wMcli exerted itself in every way to save Ms own life from 
the people, many of whose native leaders had fallen under 
his vengeance. Frenchmen only will refuse to weigh the 
admonition, and seek to turn it against the American Gfov- 
ernment. And that admonition (not without a certain 
value to Louis Napoleon himself in his dealings with Ms 
enemies) is, that he who attempts to overthrow a free people^ 
or to force upon them a government not of their own choos- 
ing, takes his life in his own hands, and his followers have 
no just right to complain if he pays the forfeit of a defeat. 
How long would Maximilian have been spared by the pres- 
ent grief-stricken England if he had led a crusade of suc- 
cessful Fenians on Irish soil, or how long would the present 
mourning France have waited if he had attempted to carry 
fire and sword into the Empire ? Put the same question to 
his brother in Austria and his relatives in Germany, and 
you need only change the name to make it terribly perti- 
nent and equall}^ difficult to answer. Such an adventurer, 
filibuster, usurper — call him what you may — would have 
met the fate of Lopez in Cuba, and William Walker in 
Honduras, and the whole world of despotism would, as it 
did when they fell, shout in wild acclaim, *' Amen I" 



The Catacombs of Paris, \nn 



XXXIII.— THE CATACOMBS OF PAEIS. 

DRAMATIC COMPLIMENTS TO THE DEAD — HOW THE CATA- 
COMBS WERE MADE — WHOLESALE REMOVAL OP HUMAN 
REMAINS^ — A TRUE NECROPOLIS — LITERATURE OF THE CATA- 
COMBS — SUBTERRANEAN VISIT. — VESTIBULE LINED WITH 
HUMAN BONES — FONTAINE DE LA SAMARITAINE — DEATH 
AND BURIAL IN PARIS — THE MORAL. 

Paeis, July\%\mn. 
Nothing escapes the French passion for the artificial — 
not even death. The loveliest forms of nature are made 
grotesque, and the gravej^ard is invaded by curious dra- 
matic inventions. If you visit Fere La Chaise, the chief 
cemetery of Paris, you find the tomb of Kachel the actress, 
covered with the cards of daily visitors ; and the railing 
round the base of the great monument in the Palace Yen- 
dome, erected to Napoleon the First, embossed with the 
names of his veterans and his Yictories, is hung with gar- 
lands of immortelles, some of which are made with wire, as 
if to last forever. But nothing is at first so revolting to an 
American as the Catacombs. Here is, indeed, " a city of 
the dead." The name is given to immense quarries, under 
the city of Paris, from which was taken the stone used to 
construct the houses on the right or south bank of the Seine. 
They had been so long excavated as to be nearly forgotten, 
except by the city authorities and antiquarians. Underly- 
ing the Luxembourg, the Pantheon, and several streets, 
alarm was excited, about the year ItTY, on account of 
several houses in the Faubourgs St. Jacques and St. Ger- 
main having fallen in. Measures were taken to prop up 
the ground, and it was then ordered that the contents of 
the cemetery of the Innocents and of other ancient ceme- 
teries should be removed into the quarries. Actually the 



lyS Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

remains of about six millions of human beings were thus 
exhumed. The immense caverns were solemnly conse- 
crated, in April, 1186, and the removal of the dead was 
immediatel}'' begun, invariably by night, with the usual 
funereal rites, except that the bones were promiscuously 
thrown down a great shaft which was sunk, when the 
overlying ground or shell had been propped up. The only 
distinction made was that the bones from each cemetery 
were kept separate. In 1810, by order of the first Napo- 
leon, was commenced the arrangement of these remains of 
mortality. Free ventilation and drainage were then first 
introduced, and numerous pillars erected to support parts 
of the vault roof supposed to be dangerous. Since then, 
as the progress of improvement and the opening of new 
streets made space essential, various other urban ceme- 
teries have been closed, and their human debris carefully 
gathered into these caverns, which form a veritable Necro- 
polis. About one-tenth of the whole city of Paris is under- 
run by the excavations, which are known to extend for over 
two hundred acres. A map of the Catacombs, to which 
are added numerous necessary and interesting details, has 
been executed by Mons. E, de Fourcy, mining engineer, 
and is satisfactory as a guide. In fact, the Catacombs have 
their own literature. The best hand-book, called "Les 
Catacombs de Paris," by M. Paul Perrey, not only gives a 
good detailed description, but illustrates it with a score of 
accurate engravings of objects described. There is no 
good account of the Catacombs in English. 

In general, admission to visit the Catacombs is granted 
only three or four times a year — and then only on applica- 
tion to the Engineer-in-Chief, at the Hotel de Yille. Per- 
haps this rule has been relaxed during the Exposition, for 
I found little diflficulty in obtaining a ticket, and, anxious 
that my readers should have some description of this famous 
Golgotha, repaired, last Sunday, in company with several 
American gentlemen to the principal entrance, at the old 



The Catacombs of Paris, 179 

" Barriere d'Enfer." Here we found congregated about two 
hundred persons, males and females, mostly French. This 
year the Catacombs are opened for exhibition twice a 
month, and the anxiety to see them is so great that to pre- 
vent a crowd only a limited number of tickets are issued. 

Placing ourselves in a line like voters on election day, 
only in couples instead of singly, each of us armed with 
half of a sperm candle, costing three sous, to light our way, 
we began to descend into the vast charnel-house. The 
downward stair of ninety steps seemed to be endless, and as 
the French are the noisiest, though apparently the politest 
in the world, their ridiculous laughter and curious cries 
seemed hideous mockeries to our untrained ears. When 
we reached the last step we found ourselves at the begin- 
ning of a series of galleries cut through the solid 
earth like the galleries in our collieries, and supported 
by huge stone pillars or abutments. Following our guide, 
we passed through the main gallery for at least a mile, and 
finally came to the octagonal vestibule of the Catacombs. 
This vestibule introduced us into rooms lined from floor to 
roof with the hones of some millions of human brings. The 
arm, leg, and thigh-bones are in front, as closely and regu- 
larly arranged together as the best masonry, their uni- 
formity being relieved by long rows of skulls at equal dis- 
tances, the skulls sometimes assuming the shape of crosses, 
and always acting as if to relieve the otherwise hideous 
monotony. Behind this outer fortress of bones are thrown 
the smaller bones. At intervals, in the centre of the sides 
of the rooms or passages, Latin and French inscriptions on 
white marble slabs are placed — some from Lamartine, some 
from Livy, some from the Bible — reminding the spectator 
of the end of life and the folly of ambition. I noticed tablets 
upon which were cut the names of the cemeteries from which 
the closely-packed and grimly-decorated bones had been 
removed, several of these bearing the last year's date. As 
we came upon this revolting sight, all were silent — the silly 



1 8o Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

Frenchmen ceased their cat-calls, dog-barking, and laughter 
— ^the priests (who, like the soldiers, you find everywhere 
in France) crossed themselves with many a whispered ave^ 
and the women huddled to the side of their protectors with 
a pretty pretence of alarm. It was a sight well calculated 
to teach us the utter folly of selfishness, falsehood, and op- 
pression, and the priceless value of giving our best efforts 
to the cause of humanity, justice, and freedom. 

In one of the galleries, in the centre of a ghastly room 
or chapel, the walls of which are built up with human bones 
and ornamented with skulls, is a fountain (bearing the title 
de la Samaritaine), which bubbled out, in freshness and 
abundance, from the blow of a pick-axe given by one of 
the workmen. Some gold fish which were placed m this 
fountain lived but did not spawn. The water is carried 
off by a subterranean aqueduct, and its name is derived 
from an inscription containing the words of Christ (fourth 
chapter of the Gospel of St. John) to the women of Samaria 
as he sat by Jacob's well. 

An immense quantity of mushrooms is raised in the 
catacombs and sold in the markets. This certainly is 
utilizing the dead for the use of the living ! 

There is sometimes an erroneous impression that Paris 
is the only city in which catacombs are used for the burial 
of the dead. The Egyptian catacombs, in which were 
deposited the remains of the Theban Kings, underlie the 
mountains near Thebes, and were used for sepulture nearly 
4000 years ago. The quarries which supplied most of the 
stone used in the construction of the city of Rome, whose 
Seven Hills were perforated with vaults, were used for 
burial from an early period, were largely used by the early 
Christians as places wherein the secret services of worship 
might be safely performed, and contain the ashes of three 
Emperors and several Popes. At Naples, the catacombs 
are still more extensive, and Syracuse and Malta are 
provided in a similar manner. 



The Catacombs of Paris* 1 8 1 

There is something fearfully calculating and hard in the 
arrangement of death and burial in Paris. I have tried to 
describe the mode of French living, the systematic devotion 
to pleasure, the regular disregard of what we call morality 
and religion, the idolatry of high art in painting, sculpture, 
music, decoration, and dress, and the manner in which vice 
is polished, not into virtue, but almost into veneration. 
The same elaborate order follows the human being to his 
final abode, and the ghastly architecture of the Catacombs 
is the finished finale of a heartless programme. The law 
takes instant cognizance of the dead, as it preserves con- 
stant guardianship of the living body Notice of decease 
must be instantly made to the mayor by the relatives, or 
by the tenant at whose house the person died. The body 
is then visited by the public physician, the cause of dis- 
solution ascertained, and no burial takes place until twenty- 
four hours after death. The undertaker is a monopoly in 
the hands of a company which pays a certain tarifi" to the 
government. There are nine classes of funerals, the cost 
of the lowest being about four dollars^ and of the first class 
as high as twelve hundred dollars. The poor are buried at 
public expense, close to but not upon each other, and the 
graves are opened every five years and their contents dis- 
tributed in the mighty vaults I have just visited. 

As I walked through the streets of this terrible cavern, 
composed of the relics of several millions of my fellow- 
creatures, more numerous than those who fret their little 
hour in the gay city itself, I could not suppress reflections 
that must be common to all who visit this appalling 
receptacle. How many '' Imperial Caesars " — how many 
" poor Yoricks " — how many soldiers, and statesmen, and 
poets, and philosophers — ^how manj^ beautiful women — had 
once looked and spoken alternate command, wit, courage, 
eloquence, song, sentiment, and love from these now-silent 
and lustreless skulls I Perhaps the head nearest me was 
that of the lost Robespierre, who, after filling a whole land 



1 82 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

with blood and death, faded into utter oblivion. Around 
me were gathered the victims who fell in the massacres of 
the 2d and 3d of September, It 93, that dread carnival 
which hastened his own doom and opened the way for the 
splendid rule of Napoleon the First, And it was almost 
impossible, after comparing the uncertainty and uneasiness 
of the more enlightened government of Napoleon's relative 
with the terrible drama that ushered in and closed his own 
career, to avoid asking the question, How long it will be 
before another uprising of this uncertain and exacting 
people contributes new thousands to these skeleton 
millions 1 



XXXIY.— SUNDAY IN PAEIS. 

THE GREAT CATHOLIC CHURCHES— CROWDS AT THE EXPOSI- 
TION THE BOIS DE BOULOGNE — THE EMPRESS EUGENIE 

RELIGION AND REVELRY — VERSAILLES — HORSE-RACES — THE 
MARKET-HALLS— CARELESS LABOR — NOCTURNAL THEATRI- 
CALS — THE DEER IN THE FOREST — THE GRISETTES — 
SATURNALIA — NAPOLEON AND THE SULTAN — IMPERIAL 
IMPRESARIO. 

Paris, June 10, 1867. 

The peculiarities of the French people have puzzled the 
philosophers of every era^ and are likely to baffle them to 
the end of time. Civilization may improve this people to 
the highest polish, but they will continue the same volatile, 
improvident; and pleasure-seeking race. One fair Sunday 
and Sunday night in June is a copy of every other in the 
past, save only as art and invention have added to their 
innate appetites. The last Sabbath but one was partic- 
ularly favorable for the purpose of observation. • About 
eleven o'clock I started to visit the great Catholic churches 



Sunday in Paris, 183 

of the Madeleine, Notre Dame, Saint Roch, St. Uustache, 
Notre Dame la Booh, St. Vincent de Paul, nearly all pre- 
serving, in their architecture, statuary and pictures, the 
records of a long, bloody, and revolutionary past, begin- 
ning, some of them, in the early Christian centuries. I say 
" nearly all," for the last named, .which has an immense 
fa§ade, in the Place la Fayette, was not opened for divine 
worship until the year 1844. They were crowded with 
worshippers, high and low, rich and poor — the very large 
majority, however, being female, the other sex composed 
mainly of English and Americans, who came, like myself, 
to see and study the spectacle. 

Emerging from the last of these churches, we drove next 
to the Exposition. We were now on the other side of the 
Seine, yet the streets were crowded with people seeking 
pleasure in various ways. Near the Hotel des Invalides a 
great concourse was assembling to witness a balloon ascent. 
The grounds and interior of the Exposition were already 
filled. The machinery in the English and American sec- 
tions was silent and covered, but everywhere else there 
was far more noise and bargaining than usual. Thousands 
were taking coffee, cordial, wine, and cigars in the foreign 
cafes, and the roar of the engines, the ringing of the bells, 
the music of a dozen bands playing at the same time, and 
the intermingled Babel of the languages of all countries, 
created a discord beyond description. As I stood gazing 
and wondering, my mind reverted to the 14th of July, 
1190 (the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastile), 
when this strange, dramatic people, mad with an idea of 
liberty which took every shape but that of common-sense, 
rushed to the ground upon which now stands the bright 
Palace of the Exposition, in one body of sixty thousand 
strong, and dug and built, with their own hands, an im- 
mense amphitheatre, where the population of France, of 
every class, and of both sexes, headed by King Louis 
XYI., assembled to swear fidelity to '' King, to Law, and 

12 



1 84 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

to JN'ation." It is estimated that one hundred thousand 
soldiers and four hundred thousand people took part in this 
theatrical farce, so soon succeeded by the bloodiest tragedy 
in human records. My Sabbath experiences in Paris have 
not convinced me that a period of eighty years has greatly 
changed the French people. 

It was now past four o'clock, and so we drove along 
the Champs Ely sees and the Avenue de I'Imperatrice 
to the Bois de Boulogne, the famous afternoon resort 
of the aristocracy,' and unquestionably the most superb 
park in the world, composed of over twenty-five hundred 
acres, which, after enormous labor and expense, extend- 
ing through many years, is now a lovely alternation of wood 
and water, promenade and drive. It hardly needed the 
presence of her Majesty Eugenie in the countless proces- 
sion of costly equipages to add to the splendors of a scene 
to be witnessed nowhere else. With several friends, and 
accompanied by the Emperor, she sat in one of the state 
carriages, and was easily seen. Those she knew she 
gracefully recognized, passing and repassing the assembled 
throng several times. She resembles her portraits closely, 
and, though forty-one years old on the 5th of May last, is 
still a very handsome woman. 

Of the number of vehicles present I can give you no 
estimate, save that they seemed to be miles in extent, 
while on both sides of the carriage-way rode horsemen and 
horsewomen, attired as only French people can dress. The 
fact that it was a Sunday afternoon undoubtedly added to 
the display. All conditions contributed — the haughty old 
noblesse, who boast of their unbroken descent from Charle- 
magne, or claim that the line of Louis le Grand (the 
XIYth) will be again restored, and who refuse to recog- 
nize either Orleans or Napoleon ; the soldiers of the First 
Empire ; the new-made nobleman who won his title in the 
battle of Solferino ; the rich Americans who abound in 
Paris, some of them driving four-in-hand and spending the 



Sunday in Paris, 185 

money of their fathers with a foolish profusion ; the expa- 
triated rebels of America ; the dangerously-beautiful demi- 
monde, and the fast men who follow them into the valley 
and the shadows. A Yanity Fair indeed ! and yet worth 
beholding, and long to be remembered. 

During all this mixture of religion and revelry the 
places of amusement were open and filled with spectators. 
The American Circus, the Hippodrome, the Cirque de 
I'lmperatrice, the menageries, in the afternoon ; the picture 
galleries and palaces in the morning; the great Diorama 
of Solferino in every hour of daylight ; St. Germain, St. 
Cloud, Yersailles, with their gardens, palaces, variegated 
fountains and fire-works, up to the last hour of every even- 
ing ; public music in the gardens of the Palais Royal, in 
the Champs Elysees, parades of the imperial troops, and 
private parties without number. 

Yersailles is arrayed in all her gala-robes on Sunday ; 
three Sabbaths ago seventy thousand people witnessed the 
illuminated fountains and fire-works, which cost the muni- 
cipality an enormous sum. A gentleman who witnessed 
the display says he never saw so little intoxication, and 
such promptitude on the part of those who managed the 
amusements, and order on the part of those who enjoyed 
them. The trains to Yersailles are always crowded on the 
first day of the week. 

A great Sunday resort is the central part of the Bois de 
Boulogne, called " Pre Catelan," a delightful rural retreat, 
where the Parisians go "after church" to drink fresh milk 
at the "Swiss dairy," and to eat brown bread and sweet 
butter. The afternoon winds up with a free concert, a 
theatrical performance, and dancing by the visitors. The 
races on Sundays are always the best. They are a peculiar 
Prench institution. Pour hundred and eighteen thousand 
francs a year are paid for the improvement of the breed of 
horses by the Government. These prices are enormous, 
and excite a fierce and extravagant competition. The 



1 86 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

Emperor's stud is perhaps the most expensive part of the 
imperial household. 

All the markets are open on the Sabbath day. Here you 
see Paris life in a new phase, and draw the distinction be- 
tween the French and all other nations. The dress and 
manners of the customers and the salesmen and. sales- 
women, and the vastness and variety of their products, are 
never observed to better advantage than on Sunday. The 
principal markets are the new Central Halles, ten in num- 
ber. They are called pavilions, and have already cost over 
six millions of dollars. The expense to the city of Paris 
for houses pulled down to make room for these new Halles 
was about five and a half million dollars. Each pavilion 
is 120 feet by 100, and each is devoted to particular arti- 
cles. They are models of lightness and ventilation. Their 
roofs rest upon three hundred cast-iron columns, ten metres 
in height, all connected by dwarf brick walls. The roof is 
of zinc, with large skylights over the carriage-way. There 
are eight electric clocks over the principal arches, and the 
whole is surrounded by a broad foot pavement planted 
with trees. 

While many stores and shops are closed on Sunday, I 
noticed very little difference among private and public 
workmen. The laborers on the new Opera House are ham- 
mering away as on ordinary days, and as I sat in the 
American chapel listening to the sermon I heard the noise 
of the masons and shoemakers in the vicinity. You will 
ask, when do these men rest ? They rest m their cafds and 
on the boulevards, in the gardens and the cheap places of 
amusement, and very little in what we call " home" in 
America. 

But who shall describe Sunday night in Paris — its un- 
veiled and unblushing features — not, indeed, the secret 
orgies, from the publication of which you may well ask to 
be spared! You have seen the " Black Crook" at Wheat- 
ley's Theatre, in New York ? There are two displays m 



Sunday in Paris, 187 

Paris, far exceeding that sumptuous deviltry in splendor, 
novelty, and abandon ; the one an elaborate representation 
of " Cinderella," beyond any thing ever conceived of by 
American plaj^-goers, and the other called " La Biche au 
Bois," or, in English, " The Deer in the Forest." I have 
seen them both, though not on Sunday ; and when I ask 
you to imagine an army of musicians, singers, half-dressed 
women, curious tricks out-Ravelling Ravel, and scenery 
that would make even my gifted friend, Russell Smith, clap 
his generous palms, I hope you will remember I am only 
writing history, not asking you to envy these Parisians. 
The curtain rises on the last act of " The Deer in the 
Forest," at first dimly disclosing a den of real lions and 
tigers. The gas is suddenly flooded upon these grim citi- 
zens, and one of the heroes of the piece walks in among 
them and lashes them after the best Yan Amburg fashion. 
. Separated from the people by a few slight iron bars, there 
is something terribly exciting in the spectacle, and I confess 
I shuddered at the idea of these frenzied monsters acci- 
dentally loosed among the packed and half-terrified audi- 
ence. The idea was eminently French, and was rapturously 
and lengthily cheered by the spectators. As Mr. Wheatley 
was in Paris and saw it for himself, he will doubtless duly 
import and improve upon it for American delectation. 

But the Sunday night is still further commemorated. 
The balls of the demi-monde are always more crowded and 
brilliant on Sunday night. Every quarter has its especial 
saturnalia ; but the Jardin Mabille and Closerie des Lilas 
are the most prominent and questionable. Here from 
eleven p. m. to three in the morning there are fantastiques 
that I would not delineate if I could. The loveliest gri- 
settes with their followers gather, not by hundreds, but by 
thousands, and crowds hasten to witness their ecstatic ex- 
hibitions. Free they are, and sometimes far more than 
liberal, but not much more so than the half-nude perform- 
ers in the modern ballet at Wheatley's, in New York, or 



1 88 Cohnel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

even than the artistes who frequently delight the fashiona- 
ble world of Philadelphia and Washington. At the *'Des 
Lilas," "the old Latin quarter," where the students of all 
nations most do congregate and live after a wild Bohemian 
fashion, these young Tom and Jerrys are masters of the 
field. Fiery of temper, and prompt to give and to avenge 
insult, they are a diflScult set to restrain. But so severe 
and sleepless are the police that an outbreak among them, or 
any positive vulgarity on the part of the women, is very rare. 
Paris is a grand theatre, and Louis Napoleon is a bold, 
skilful, and sleepless manager. The simile ma}^ not only 
be truly used, but cannot be justly complained of even by 
his most devoted admirers. In the last few months he has 
introduced a number of new actors, with an unparalleled op- 
ulence, ingenuity, and novelty of decorations and auxilia^ 
ries. These men and women, the rulers of the greatest 
kingdoms of the earth, have accepted his invitations, and 
have given a more than Oriental eclat to his capital. Mon- 
archs and masters in their own realms, they have consented 
to play a subordinate part in his honor. But they have 
not been blind to the fact that the great object of the Em- 
peror was to save himself by pleasing the largest and 
most exacting audience in the world. Paris has been the 
brilliant stage of their personations, with two millions of 
resident people as the spectators, and hundreds of thou- 
sands of strangers attracted to pay the cost of the enter- 
tainment. Never was there so sumptuous a series of 
dramas, and never, let me add, has human government 
seemed to be so artificial and temporary. Watching the 
preparations for the reception of the Sultan of Turkey a 
day or two ago in the Champs Elj^-sees, the old pillars, awn- 
ings, gilt figure-heads, lamps, staging, banners, and em- 
blems, I could not resist the belief that these were but the 
tawdry " properties " of a great theatre, the hollow delu- 
sions of the hour, to be seen with a momentary pleasure 
and forgotten among the unsubstantial nothings I And 



The Palace of the Exposition, 189 

as, yesterday afternoon, I saw the solid despot, whose 
diplomatic title is ''the Sublime Porte," sitting side by side, 
in the royal carriage, with the man who well deserves the 
title of Modern Ceesar, and watched the countless crowds 
of subjects and sojourners who had gathered to behold the 
Imperial welcome, I involuntarily prayed that the comedy 
might not, like that stupendous spectacle of 1790, end in a 
tragedy that would again cover half the world with fire 
and blood. 



XXXV.— THE PALACE OF THE EXPO- 
SITION. 

EXPOSITION OF INDUSTRY AND ART — CHAMP DE MARS — HIS- 
TORICAL ASSOCIATION — DESCRIPTION OF THE PALACE — 
PORTRAIT OF MR. LINCOLN — THE WORLD'S FAIR. 

Paeis, July 11, 1867. 
When the magnificent temple, known as the Universal 
Exposition, long to be remembered as the completest 
collection of trophies of human art in the world's history, 
has been removed, the Emperor will keenly realize the 
necessity of providing some suitable substitute for the 
occupation of his people, and the enjoyment of the hun- 
dreds of thousandl of strangers constantly flocking to his 
splendid capital. But the Exposition has been so success- 
ful in a business point of view, apart from the substantial 
benefit it has conferred upon men of science, inventors, 
artists, and mechanics, and upon merchants, who have 
brought hither the finest fabrics, from all parts of the 
civilized globe, that it has not been finally determined to 
dismantle the buildings. It has been to me a source of 
endless satisfaction to roam though these gorgeous spaces, 



190 Colonel Forney's Letters from Europe, 

crowded as they are with inconceivable novelties. Some 
Americans that I could name have spent weeks in their 
contemplation, and many a note-book has been filled with 
ideas suggested by the customs, inventions, and peculiarities 
of other nations here collected in such wondrous variety. I 
felt yesterday afternoon, when I paid my last visit, that I 
should never look upon its like again. That my own 
country, in some not very remote period, when by means 
of the Pacific Railroad the products of the tropics, com- 
paratively unknown to modern civilization, will be borne 
in great profusion to our Atlantic and Pacific shores, will 
probably rival European nations, I have little doubt ; but 
such a display would be different in two respects : it 
would combine the triumphs of an entirely new people like 
our own and the trophies of races whose origin is lost in 
the mists of tradition. 

The approach to the Palace is by fourteen entrances. 
Some of the streets leading to these entrances have been 
purposely cut down and levelled, and as you descend the 
broad flight of steps of one of the main thoroughfares you 
are struck with the singular neatness and cleanliness of 
the surroundings and the gorgeous variety of the flowers 
intended to relieve the prospect. Although hundreds and 
thousands pass up and down the magnificent stairs, such is 
the prevalent obedience to law, such the respect for every 
thing beautiful in art and nature, that not a plant is dis- 
turbed, although no barriers intervene between the inces- 
sant throng and the brilliant parterre, woven, as it were, 
into a floral carpet of every hue. There is no pressure, 
no confusion, no dissipation ; and when the Palace is at the 
full, the system and regularity seem to be at their highest. 

I have already informed you that the site upon which 
the Exposition stands is the Champ de liars, formerly 
used for the manoeuvres of troops and for grand reviews, 
but better remembered as the theatre of the National Pete 
de la Federation, July 14, 1190, when the people of France 



The Palace of the Exposition. 191 

in myriads assembled, headed by the unfortunate Louis 
XYI., and took their formidable oath to support the "Nation, 
the Law, and the King." Here, in June, 1815, just before 
he entered upon that last brief campaign which ended at 
Waterloo, the first Napoleon, who knew the Parisians' 
fondness for splendid and dramatic ceremonials, held the 
Fete of the Champ de Mai, at which, in the midst of an 
audience of 200,000 persons, he said: "Emperor, Consul, 
Soldier, I owe every thing to the People," and then took 
an oath on the Gospels to observe the Constitution ; the 
officers. of State, marshals, legislators, and soldiers present 
taking the same obligation, after which Napoleon, still an 
Emperor, delivered the regimental eagles to the troops 
with extraordinary and imposing pomp. Here, fifteen 
years later, Louis Philippe, then newly appointed Citizen 
King, presented 60,000 of the National Guards, headed by 
the venerable and patriotic Lafayette, with new and splen- 
did colors. Here, in June, 1837, was given a magnificent 
public fete, on the occasion of the Duke of Orleans' mar- 
riage, at which occurred the evil omen, as at the first fete 
in honor of Marie Antoinette, of numerous persons being 
crushed or trodden to death by the pressure of the crowd. 
Here was held the fete of the Republic in 1848, at which 
the newly-instituted Garde Mobile replaced the National 
Guard. Here, in May, 1852, Louis Napoleon distributed 
to the French army the Eagles, prohibited since his uncle's 
fall, which were to replace the Gallic cock ; and here, too, 
did he dispense among his assembled soldiers the honors 
and rewards which they had^ won in the Crimean and 
Italian campaigns. With the exception of the Place de 
la Concorde, no locality in Paris is surrounded with so 
many historical associations as the Champ de Mars. 

The vast temple and grounds absorb a space of thirty - 
six acres — its greatest length being 527 yards, and its 
breadth 406 yards. The outer gallery is three-fourths of a 
mile long. The iron pillars and girders employed in its 



192 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

construction weigh 13,500 tons. The windows and sky- 
lights cover a space of 65,000 square metres, the masonry 
62,000 cubic metres of stone and brick, and the woodwork 
5,000 square metres of plank. Some idea of the cost of 
this structure may be imagined when you are informed 
that France alone contributed £800,000, or nearly four 
millions of dollars; Italy, £80,000; Belgium, £60,000; 
Prussia, £120,000; and England, £116,000; and all this 
exclusive of the enormous sums paid by private exhibitors, 
the competition between whom has been so great that no 
money was spared in order to secure the best position, as, 
indeed, it is confidently asserted money was freely dis- 
pensed to obtain the awards of the " Imperial Commission." 
The extraordinary rivalry between the two great American 
piano firms, Chickeriug and Stein way, which promises to 
eventuate in a prolonged newspaper conflict, is but a 
specimen of the intensity of the struggle between the 
different artists, inventors, and manufacturers of other 
countries. 

According to agreement, the profits, if any, arising from 
the Exposition, are to be divided equally between the 
State, the city of Paris, and the company owning the char- 
ter, granted by a law passed by the French Legislature, in 
1865, for the purpose of organizing this stupendous under- 
taking. Of course, no exact estimate of these profits can 
yet be ascertained, but that the enterprise has been as suc- 
cessful as it is a magnificent speculation, is admitted on all 
hands. The sale of the tickets at sixty francs, or twelve 
dollars each, for admission to the distribution of the prizes 
at the Palace of Industry, on the first of this month, pro- 
duced an enormous sum. From these facts you will per- 
ceive that, if the Emperor concludes to declare the Expo- 
sition a permanency, it will be a source of continual wealth 
to its projectors. I know not whether there is any truth 
in the rumor of the day that the Emperor of Russia is 
desirous of purchasing the building entire^ with the inten- 



The Palace of the Exposition. 193 

tion of having it removed to St. Petersburg, there to be re- 
erected, with alterations, as a superb Winter- Garden. Two 
obstacles might scarcely be overcome — first, the immense 
cost for purchase and removal, and next, the difficulty of 
transferring such a structure, in pieces, to a city so remote 
as St. Petersburg. It is true that the Cr3''stal Palace, in 
which England held her World's Fair in 1851, was removed 
from Hyde Park in the year following, to form the nucleus 
of the present splendid erection at Sydenham, but the dis- 
tance was only a few miles, and there was scarcely any 
difficulty in transferring the materials from one locality to 
another. 

It is impossible to do common justice, in the limits of 
such a letter, to this unparalleled display. In a general 
way, I may state that France and her colonies occupy nearly 
the whole of the eastern half of the Palace. England and 
her colonies were allowed nearly half as much space, and 
near the principal entrance and avenue, as France. South 
and Central America had only a narrow . slip, and the 
United States about twice as much, but only half the space 
given to Belgium. Our division was on the west of the 
Palace, and close to it were the spaces respectively occupied 
by Persia, China, Siam, Japan, and Turkey. A distinct 
lot was given to Rome, and four times as much to Italy. 
Then, crowded together, were the divisions for Russia, 
Sweden and Norway, Denmark, Portugal, and Spain. To 
Switzerland was allotted exactly as much room as the 
United States was allowed. Austria, the minor German 
States, and Prussia, with Belgium, and Holland, had nearly 
the whole of the southern part of the Palace. In the park 
surrounding the building separate places were reserved for 
the various countries. It is obvious that the Emperor has 
taken care to monopolize for France the best portion of the 
Palace, but he has done it with unexampled ingenuity and 
skilL There is a space in the middfe of the Palace occupied 
by a- garden, surrounded by a portico with a colonnade. 



194 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

Four doors give access to a large number of avenues. 
The principal entrance, as you cross the Seine, is directly 
over the Pont de Jena. It opens on a large vestibule, and 
extends to the central garden. This vestibule cuts in its 
course the circular galleries, which, on entering, the visitor 
sees to the right and left ^s large as streets. The first gal- 
lery is used for the Exposition of the Fine Arts. Here I 
wish it were possible for me to designate some of the chef 
d^oeuvres of the old and new masters. 

In this department ,of productive genius Italy is not so 
well represented as I expected, but the German specimens 
are splendid. France was above all the rest in her battle- 
pieces, especially in those recalling the triumphs of JSTapo- 
leon the First, and those of his reigning nephew. The 
United States sends some of the productions of her best 
artists, including Church, Bierstadt, and Beard. That 
which pained me most in our department was the worst 
picture of Mr. Lincoln ever painted ; and when I noticed 
how many persons stood before it, and how universally his 
fame was diffused among the working classes of the Old 
World, I regretted that something more worthy of his vir- 
tues had not been procured. England had just twelve 
times the space we have in this section — admirably filled 
and capitally lighted. Indeed, the whole fine art circle is 
well arranged, the pictures being seen to advantage, while 
the floor is covered with a good, thick matting. But that 
which is most numerously surrounded is a statue of Napo- 
leon I., cut in white marble by a celebrated French artist, 
intended to represent the illustrious captain in the sun- 
set of his life, when his fiery and undaunted spirit was 
rapidly consuming the fleshy tabernacle. The lassitude 
of the whole figure, the emaciated face, the sick eye, 
the thin hair, the drooping lips, the peculiar eloquence 
of the agonizing hand, which seems to speak, even to 
the tips of the attenuated fingers, of the slow despair 
that has settled upon an intellect that once mastered or 



The Palace of the Exposition.. 195 

terrified the civilized world — proved conclusivelj^ that 
sculpture is far from being classed among the lost arts in 
France. The second gallery is devoted to "the Materials 
of the Liberal Arts " — including printing and books, sta- 
tionery, drawing materials, photography, musical, surgical, 
and mechanical instruments, maps, and globes. The third 
gallery is devoted to furniture, including specimens from 
all parts of the civilized world, upholstery, cut glass, gold- 
smith's work, and watches. The- fourth is filled with wear- 
ing apparel and textile fabrics, cotton stuffs and threads, 
linens, worsteds, jewels, laces, clothing of all kinds, weapons, 
and travelling outfits. The fifth is set apart to products 
extracted from raw materials. Here we find specimens of 
petroleum ; also, of lumber, vegetables, and wool-growing. 
The sixth gallery, which includes a vast park, and certainly 
the most important to mechanics and manufacturers, is 
devoted to instruments and processes of common trades. 
To this depository the great workshops of the world have 
contributed their best efforts. It begins with specimens 
from the mines, and runs through and includes farming 
utensils, fishing tackle, hunting instruments, steam-engines 
and machinery, weaving-looms, sewing-machines, coaches, 
saddles, railway rolling stock and models of cars, telegraph 
apparatus, civil engineering, and naval architecture. It is 
a very curious sight to notice in this vast nave (thirty- 
eight yards in width, twenty-seven yards in height, and 
running round the whole Palace like a belt) the operation 
of engines of all kinds attended by their workmen, and sur- 
rounded by visitors. The machinery gallery is surrounded 
by a wall like the exterior of an amphitheatre. The 
seventh gallery is devoted to articles of food, fresh or pre- 
serve.d. This is the restaurant department, and here you 
obtain a vivid idea of the food and cooking of the difierent 
nationalities. The American department is surrounded by 
Americans, eating ice-creams and drinking sherry-cob- 
blers and iced soda; the Germans and English drinking 



196 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

beer ; the French and Italians light wines ; the Tarks 
smoking ; the Chinese working and selling ; and the Al- 
gerines, proud in their new French uniforms, indulging 
their new Paris appetites. The eighth and ninth are sec- 
tions devoted to specimens of agriculture and horticulture, 
including hot-house, ornamental flowers, exotic plants, fruit 
trees, &c. The tenth group is filled with articles especially 
exhibited to prove the physical and moral condition of the 
people ; schools and methods of instruction, public libra- 
ries, food of all kinds remarkable for their useful qualities, 
sj^ecimens of fashions, models of cheap dwellings, instru- 
ments for working, &c. 

Here let me generalize a little. The Exposition com- 
prises three parts, including, first, the Palace itself and 
the park surrounding it, on the banks of the river Seine ; 
second, that called the garden, situated on the south, in- 
cluding all the Champ de Mars and the gardens for horti- 
cultural exhibitions ; and, third, Billancourt, an island 
situated in the Seine, five hundred yards from the Palace, 
and set apart for agricultural exhibitions and field experi- 
ments with machines. Stretching to the right and left of this 
main passage are seen vast concentric avenues, as large as 
streets, which run round the building and are intersected by 
numerous passages radiating like an outspread fan from the 
centre to the circumference. If you make the entire circuit 
of this building, you would see many of the people and most 
of the productions of the following countries : France and 
its colonies, Algeria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Prussia, 
the secondary States of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, 
Spain, Portugal, Greece, Denmark, Sweden and Norway, 
Russia, Italy, the Koman States, the Danubian Principali- 
ties, Turkey, Eg^^pt, China, Siam, Japan, Persia, Africa, 
Australasia, the United States of America, Mexico, Brazil, 
the Republics of Central and Southern America, Great 
Britain and Ireland. The park which surrounds the Palace 
contains in its gardens 214,000 square yards, and is laid 



Imperial Printing Office, 197 

out on the English system. A covered promenade five 
yards wide gives access to the park, A small river, which 
rises in the south part of the palace grounds, runs from 
one end of the park to the other, and is used for various 
purposes, for aquaria, for the breeding of fish, fountains, 
and so forth. But the great space I have already con- 
sumed in this description only convinces me that I cannot 
do it justice. If I have accomplished the object in giving 
to my kind and indulgent readers some idea of this mag- 
nificent combination, I shall be content. 



XXXVI.— IMPERIAL PRINTING OFFICE. 

INFERIORITY OF FRENCH NEWSPAPERS — SCANT LIBERTY OF 
THE PRESS — IMPERIAL PRINTING OFFICE — EMPLOYES AND 
WAGES — VARIETY OF LANGUAGES — TRIUMPH OF TYPOG- 
RAPHY — PLAYING-CARD MONOPOLY — THE " PLANT " — CIR- 
CULATION OF THE BIBLE. 

Pahis, July 12, 1867. 

There is nothing a tyrant fears more than the printing 
press. Against bullets and batteries he may oppose num- 
bers and force, but how to grapple with invisible thought, 
especially after that thought assumes millions of tangible 
shapes, is a difficulty which in God's providence he can 
never remove. Hence the inferior and fettered condition 
of the French press, and the volatile and uncertain con- 
dition of the French people. The daily newspapers of 
France are a curiosity — a mingling of silly novels and 
demoralizing gossip : no broad views, no intelligence of 
the events of the day, no frank comments upon public men 
and public movements, nothing to elevate, enlighten, or 



"198 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

dignify. The home editors are not only watched, and their 
words weighed in the nice scales of an exacting censorship, 
but the words of foreign writers are as sedulously examined 
to prevent the circulation of what the Emperor deems 
unhealthy doctrines as if the sheets upon which they print 
were impregnated with deadliest infection. Laboulaye 
dare not lecture in Versailles, lest the quick antidote of his 
pure republicanism would dissipate the pestilence of false- 
hood. In that seat of classic history, where there are three 
newspapers, not one is allowed to publish a single honest 
sentiment in favor of liberty. Paris is understood to be 
so completely in the hands of the military and the Emperor 
that large credit is claimed because the bold philosopher is 
permitted to address his pupils on certain state subjects, 
within rigidly prescribed limits. Jules Favre never speaks 
in the Legislature what he feels, without personal danger ; 
and Emile de Girardin rarely wields his fearless pen with- 
out feeling that he may be unexpectedly called upon to 
pay the penalty of his rashness. Philosophers, inventors, 
theorists, and all those minds which in a different condition 
of society (our own for instance) would be inspired by the 
highest and noblest thoughts, are constrained to devote 
themselves to aesthetic studies ; and in avoiding the tempt- 
ing paths, elsewhere open to all who desire to assist and 
elevate mankind, they excel in every acute science but that 
which relates to the immortal destinies of their fellow- 
creatures. If these tremendous intellectual aspirations were 
left to operate at will, none could tell what the effect would 
be upon the civilization of Europe. Of course the imperial 
hostility to and fear of a free press prevents the expansion 
and improvement of the mechanical printing press. I have 
already stated that the daily journals of Paris do not 
approach either in appearance or contents the newspapers 
of America. And this is equally true of every other 
nation of Europe, not excluding England. It is painfully 
so of Italy, of Germany, and of Switzerland. The dailies 



Imperial Printing Office, 199 

of Brussels alone resemble, in their dash, enthusiasm, and 
rivalry, their American contemporaries. The cause of this 
almost exceptionless inferiority is aristocratic hatred of 
free and fearless opinion. 

The extraordinary efficiency and perfection of the 
Imperial printing office in Paris, which I visited this 
morning, after having waited for several days to procure a 
ticket from the proper authorities, only show that nothing 
but a thoroughly liberal government is needed to make 
French newspapers and publications as enterprising and as 
numerous as they are in the United States. My first im- 
pressions of this famous establishment were not agreeable : 
the building was older and the rooms smaller than I ex- 
pected. But as we got further on, I soon understood 
why it was classed among the curiosities of Paris. 

The " Imprimerie Imperiale," or Imperial printing office, 
was established by Francis I., in the Louvre. In 1792 a 
portion was transferred into the Elysee Bourbon, and in 
1795 the whole was established in the Hotel de Toulouse, 
now the Bank of France. It was finally established in its 
present locality, in the Hue Yieille-du-Temple, in 1809. 
There is some idea of transferring this establishment to the 
hospital of the Petits-Menages, in the Bue de la Chaise. 
At this office all the government documents are printed, 
including the immense number of blanks used in all the 
departments — police, military, civil, financial, and even 
legal. The Bulletin de Loi, or Law Register, is issued 
regularly from this office, together with an immense number 
of oriental publications. Mne hundred and fifty persons, 
including over three hundred women and fortj' boys, are 
constantly employed. They work ten hours a clay, and the 
compositors and pressmen receive six francs (about a dollar 
and twenty cents) per diem. After thirty years' service 
these mechanics receive an annual pension of four hundred 
francs (about eighty dollars), a small portion of their wages 

13 



200 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

being deducted for a sick fund. The bookbinders receive 
three and a half and the women two francs per day. 

The stereotyping department looked very primitive, gind 
by no means as extensive as our great manufactories in 
Philadelphia and New York. Many of the processes for 
casting were rude and awkward. But what most interests 
the stranger are the alphabets of different languages, in- 
cluding the Sanscrit, Tartar, Chinese, and Assyrian or 
cuneiform characters. There are types here in fifty-six 
Oriental languages, and in sixteen European ones, which 
do not employ the Roman characters, while the latter exist 
in forty-six different forms and sizes. Five hundred and 
fifty-six reams of paper, equivalent to 9,266 octavo vol- 
umes, can be struck off in a single day. The Oriental 
books, with their colored margins and other unique and 
antique specimens of typography (not to be executed 
anywhere else in the world, it is claimed), are exceedingly 
interesting to a practical printer. Among other curiosities 
is a complete set of Greek matrices, the copper mould in 
which the face of the type is cast, which were cut by Gara- 
mond, by order of Francis I., and so perfect were they in 
form, that the English University of Cambridge applied for 
a font of them in 1692. It was at the Imperial printing 
oflSce that the Emperor Louis Napoleon's life of Julius 
Caesar, one of the most beautiful triumphs of modern art, 
was set up, struck off, bound and published. It is known 
that the little Prince Imperial has a miniature press, with 
cases and a font of type of his own, in the Palace, where he 
has acquired a knowledge of " the art preservative of all 
arts." Any work of high character, devoted to science or 
any of the abstruse studies, the author of which is not able 
to print at his own expense, or the publication of which 
would not remunerate private enterprise, may, by order of 
the Emperor, be printed at and sent out to the world from 
this establishment. When Pope P4us VII. visited the Im- 
perial printing oflice, the Lord's Prayer was presented to 



Imperial Printing Office, 201 

him printed in one hundred and fifty languages, and be- 
fore he returned to his carriage he received a copy of the 
collection already bound. The ace of clubs, and the kings, 
queens, and knaves of all the playing-cards used in France 
are printed here, the number issued daily being 12,000 
packs. This work is a government monopoly, and the 
room in which it is executed is separated by a glass par- 
tition from the other departments. Card manufacturers 
are allowed to print all the other cards, except those speci- 
fied. This is done to secure the payment of the tax on 
playing-cards. There are eighty-eight hand-presses, each 
requiring two men, occupying two long parallel galleries 
and meeting a transverse one at right angles. There are 
nineteen steam, and twenty lithographic presses, and one 
hydraulic press for wetting paper. There are eighteen 
machines for ruling paper. The sewing, binding, wetting, 
cutting, and packing of the paper is all done in this estab- 
lishment. The forms of types of government papers and 
documents, of which there are about twenty thousand on 
hand, are kept here after they are used. The receipts of 
the establishment are about 4,500,000 francs, or nearly 
900,000 dollars per annum, but the yearly expenses are 
4,581,000 francs. 

The decorations of the Imperial printing office are a cast- 
iron statue of Guttenberg, in the front court, or Court of 
Honor ; a bas-relief on the right side of the court, repre- 
senting horses at a watering-place, attributed to Coustou. 
In the waiting-room, where visitors collect every Thursday 
until they reach the number of twelve, are four paintings 
by Boucher, The library, the ancient bedroom of the Car- 
dinal de Rohan, contains the celebrated version of the 
Catholic devotional book, " The Imitation of Jesus Christ," 
translated into French verse by Pierre Corneille, which 
took the first medal at the Paris Exposition of 1855. The 
ornamentations of the library were directed by Lassus and 
Dauzats, the miniatures were painted by M. Steinheil, 



202 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

and the designs in colors in gold by M. and Madame 
Toudouze. 

But justly as the French may boast of this ancient and 
extensive institution, it deserves to be said that the British 
and Foreign Bible Society, a private institution, located in 
London, has at least equalled the French in the publication 
of the Holy Scriptures in nearly all the living languages. 
Their published circulars contain specimens of the lan- 
guages and dialects in which they print and circulate the 
Bible. It is estimated that they print the sacred volume, 
in whole or in part, in 164 languages and dialects, and yet 
when this society was first established its. Bible transla- 
tions were but fifty ; and they now claim that by the trans- 
lation, printing, and circulation of the inspired writings, 
within the present century, they have supplied divine 
truths to six hundred millions of the human familj^ 



XXXVII.— SOLFEHIlSrO AND GETTYS- 
BUEG. 

ROTHERMEL'S battle op GETTYSBURG — PANORAMA O^ THE 
BATTLE OF SOLFERINO — A VETERAN GUIDE — A SUGGESTED 
PANORAMA — UNION LEADERS AND SOLDIERS. 

Paris, July 13, 1867. 

A paragraph in the Philadelphia Press, just received, 
stating that our Pennsylvania artist, Rothermel, had been 
selected to paint a large picture of the battle of Gettys- 
burg, and had just produced the first rough sketches, re- 
minded me of a promise to visit the exhibition of the great 
panorama in the Champs Elysees, near the Palace de I'lndus- 
trie, representing the battle of Solferino. With no desire 



Solferino and Gettysburg, 203 

to criticise the judgment wliich has preferred a different style 
of illustration of the bloody and brilliant struggle which, 
on the 1st, 2d,^ and 3d of July, 1863, in conjunction with 
the capture of Yicksburg by General Grant, broke the 
back of the rebellion, it seemed to me not an inappropriate 
hope that a representation of that battle, similar to the one 
I am about to describe, might be painted at no distant 
day. 

The 'panorama of Solferino, constructed in 1859, under 
the patronage of the Emperor, attracts a constant stream 
of curious visitors. It is exhibited in a circular building, 
and covers a space of 1,500 square yards. Paying two francs 
at the door to a wounded soldier, who bore upon his person 
the medals of the various great conflicts in which he had 
participated, we ascended a stair which led us to a platform 
from which we enjoyed a perspective at first difficult to 
realize as confined within such narrow limits. As a Union 
officer, who had also seen it, said to us afterwards, we 
seemed to be gazing across a wide extent of country, a 
succession of river, town, hill, and valley. Another French 
veteran, also covered with decorations, was walking around 
the platform, followed by a crowd of spectators, describing, 
in loud and animated tones, the various evolutions and 
'figures delineated on the extended canvas. The illusion 
was managed with marvellous accuracy and effect — down 
to the very spot where we stood, broken carriage-wheels, 
cannon balls, old uniforms, and battered accoutrements were 
scattered, the more successfully to complete the idea of the 
original. Nothing was wanting to stamp the whole picture 
with life but moving figures. Of course I could not under- 
stand the description until it was slowly interpreted, but it 
was not difficult to perceive from the excited looks of the 
spectators that the natural eloquence of the soldiers had 
sympathetic listeners, and that while the Emperor thus 
preserves the recollection of one of the battles everywhere 
illustrated for the purpose of perpetuating his own fame, 



204 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

he also keeps alive tlie martial feeling in the hearts of his 
people. The battle of Solferino decided comparatively 
nothing ; even the unification of Italy, claimed as one of 
the results of that achievement, with the victory of Magenta, 
is far from an accomplished fact, if we may judge by the 
discontent of Garibaldi and the fierce protest of Mazzini. 

But imagine a panorama of the battle of Gettysburg 
placed in one of the great squares of Philadelphia, or what 
might be still more appropriate, in the beautiful grounds 
east of the Capitol at Washington, with a mutilated Union 
soldier, who had borne a conspicuous part in that dreadful 
conflict, telling to proud and grateful visitors the thrilling 
story of those thrilling days. The approach of the foe, his 
rapid advance, his infuriated attack ; the doubtful and 
wavering fortunes of those dark and anxious hours ; the 
headquarters of General Meade ; the fiery fight that made 
little Round Top immortal in history, where Birnej^ fought, 
where Sickles was wounded, where Reynolds died, where 
Colonel O'Rorke of the 140th New York fell, while animatr 
ing his men ; where Chamberlain pioneered his superb 20th 
Maine ; the Devil's Den, occupied by the enemy's sharp- 
shooters ; the rocks that mark the spot where Yincent and 
Hazlett were struck down ; the charge of the Pennsylvania 
Reserves ; the points so bravely defended at the cost of 
their glorious lives by Brigadier-General Zook and Colonel 
Jefiards of the 4th Michigan, and by our Chester county 
hero, Frederick Taylor ; the grove where the rebel Barksdale 
perished ; the spot where Hancock received his wound, and 
the ground held with such distinguished valor by our city 
brigade, led by men not one of whom, as I believe, has 
since soiled his laurels by acting with the so-called Demo- 
cratic party. In proof of this I may write their names 
with grateful pride thus far from home : Baxter, of the t2d, 
or Baxter's Zouaves ; Colonel Moorhead's 106th ; the 
list, or California Regiment, commanded originally by the 
illustrious General Edward D. Baker, and subsequently for 



Paris to Switzerland, 205 

a time by Colonel John Markoe. Then our veteran soldier 
could point to Seminary Ridge, the " line of woods whence 
the rebels debouched, and the beautiful level fields over 
which they swept m their grand charge," and describe how 
twenty thousand men, in two or three lines of battle, rushed 
upon our ninety guns, planted on the ridge from Seminary 
Hill to Round Top, and were swept by hundreds into eter- 
nity. Here the flower of Lee's army vainly attempted to 
carry our position, and, losing the great venture, retired 
broken and cowed. The moral of the story would require 
few words to impress it upon every mind, for that great, 
sacrifice saved the Republic, let us hope, for ever and for 
ever. 



XXXVIII.— PAEIS TO SWITZEELAND. 

REMINDED OP HOME — FOREIGN RAILROADS— WOMEN WORKING 
IN THE FIELDS — SWISS BARNS — DIVISION OP THE LAND — 
DESCENT OP THE JURA — AMERICAN RECONSTRUCTION — CON- 
TINENTAL SYMPATHY WITH THE RADICALS — GOOD RESULTS 
OP EMANCIPATION — FUTURE OP THE SOUTH. 

Berne, Switzerland, July 14, 1867. 

We reached the quiet political capital of Switzerland in 
sixteen hours from gay and bustling Paris, leaving the lat- 
ter at eight o'clock last evening, and registering ourselves 
here at the "Hotel Bernerhoff" at half-past twelve to- 
day. It was long after nine p. m. yesterday before the 
twilight ended, and when the day had indicated his last 
farewell, a bright harvest-moon took up "the wondrous 
tale," so that 1 had hardly time to catch a few hours of un- 
easy sleep before early morning began to show us the 
grain-fields of Switzerland and the reapers already at 



2o6 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

work to take advantage of the good weather that is too in- 
frequent in these mountain climates. An American in 
Europe is constantly reminded of his country; often by 
what he would like to see adopted there, but more frequently 
by what he would like to see copied here. As an instance 
of the latter, how forcibly the admirable arrangements of 
the Pennsylvania Central and the great lines extending 
west of Pittsburg, and the superior night-accommodations 
between New York and Washington, and between Phila- 
delphia and Washington, were recalled by the absence of 
'' sleeping cars " and the heartless neglect of the opportuni- 
ties for refreshment on the long and unbroken route from 
Paris to Berne ! I thought of those unrivalled conveniences, 
and the splendid breakfast spread for the hungry traveller 
at Altoona, on the top of the Alleghany Mountains, with a 
feeling that would have been angry if the contrast had not 
been a new argument in favor of the United States. 

Everj^where the toilers in the field were men and women 
— generally two of the latter to one of the former ; and it 
was a common thing to see the female following the reaper, 
•helping to load the heavy wagon, driving the oxen, and 
trudging after the plough. But if this sight did not remind 
me of home, I saw others that convinced me I was in a 
congenial country. '-^ Swiss barns," so common in Pennsyl- 
vania, appeared in all their original forms, with the difi'er- 
ence that in Switzerland the family residence is not only 
part of the enormous granary, but also the shelter for the 
horses and cows. With us these great storehouses stand 
apart from the dwelling-house of the farmer, and a curious 
contrast is suggested to the stranger by the diminutive 
size of the one and the huge proportions of the other. The 
next thing that reminded me of America was the absence 
of those deserted yet expensively cultivated, estates so 
. alarming to the statesmen of England. The soil in Switz- 
erland (and indeed in France as well) is divided among 
small farmers, who either own it themselves or rent it from 



Paris to Switzerland. 207 

others, but in all cases obtain a reasonable share of the 
product of their labor. Everywhere the people seemed to 
be happ3^ ; and the disappearance of the military and of the 
ubiquitous gens d^armes, even the guttural sound of the Ger- 
man language, so like my dear old Lancaster county home, 
convinced me that I had reached a republican country. Our 
daylight ride before reaching Berne gave us a gorgeous 
view of the Alps, as we descended the Jura ; and I was 
easily persuaded that a region that had such gateways 
must possess many extraordinary natural advantages. 
The clean and quiet accommodations of the Bernerhoff, its 
generous fare and its lovely situation, so different from 
the artificial splendors and hollow civilities of Paris, not 
only realized all that I expected, but prepared me for a 
pleasant and profitable stay, brief as it must be, in " the 
miniature republic." 

The progress of reconstruction in the United States is a 
source of constant interest to Americans, and to all classes 
of foreigners, friends and foes ; and although we have 
scarcely heard whether Congress is in session (owing to the 
culpable neglect of the agents of the Associated Press in 
America, in sending absolutely nothing worthy of general in- 
formation over the cable telegraph), yet we gather enough to 
know that all is going well. The course of Generals Sickles 
and Sheridan gives unutterable satisfaction to our friends 
abroad ; and you may well suppose that I study the ex- 
ample of these conscientious soldiers and their associates, 
Pope, Schofield, and Thomas, with all the gratitude of one 
who never doubted where they would be found in the event 
of a new attempt to defeat the law of Congress. I have 
met many practical proofs of the utterly priceless value of 
their sympathy with the Radical measures during my brief 
stay abroad, two of which I will mention. Dining a few 
evenings ago with an eminent American from a border 
State, now in Paris, he informed me that he had just re- 
ceived a letter from a friend in the South, one of the largest 



2o8 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

slaveholders before the war, and one of the most earnest 
advocates of and most generous contributors to the rebel- 
lion. In this letter his friend informed him that he had 
made contracts with his former slaves, and that they were 
working so faithfully and happily that the products of his 
estates promise to be greater than in any former year ; that 
he was so proud of their industry and fidelity that he was 
putting up school-houses for their education on his planta- 
tion, and that he and his family had come to the conclusion 
that the act of emancipation and the defeat of the rebellion 
were the best things that ever happened to the South, and 
as for himself, had not only made him a more wealthy man, 
but, what was better than all, had made him a happier and 
better man than he had ever -expected to be. The other was 
related to me by an eminent New York banker, this morn- 
ing, on the train from Paris to Berne. He was a large 
owner of property in the Southern States before the rebel- 
lion, most of which was confiscated by the Jeflerson Davis 
Confederacy ; but since Congress had adopted its vigorous 
plan of reconstruction, on the ruins of the fatal "policy" 
of President Johnson, all his interests had been recovered 
and restored to him by the bold co-operation of the military 
commanders ; " and to none more am I indebted," he added, 
*'than to your friend General Sickles, who not only had all 
my property in Charleston returned to me, but made the 
rebels indemnify me for my losses. This I say without 
ever having met or exchanged a word with that accom- 
plished gentleman." And you may be sure, when, after 
this unprompted tribute to' General Sickles, he added that 
he was investing largely in the South, and that he believed 
in five years from to-day, if the Radicals were not fools 
enough to lose the next Presidency, the late insurrectionary 
States " would be the richest and most prosperous part of 
the world," that I gave him my hearty thanks for his agree- 
able information. I might add to this testimony, if it were 
necessary ; but when such substantial witnesses are sus- 



Switzerland, 209 

tained by the good news from all quarters that the cotton, 
tobacco, rice, sugar, and grain crops promise to be better 
than at any time since 1860, who will doubt that recon- 
struction is destined to a resistless triumph ? What little I 
have seen and heard of Swiss opinion in regard to America 
is not destined, I am sure, to change these hopeful emotions. 



XXXIX.— SWITZEELAND. 

PALACE OF THE LOUVRE — GENEVA — LAKE LEMAN — SWISS 
HOTELS — ENGLISH TOURISTS — FEMALE FIELD - LABORERS — 
PAUCITY OF MENDICANTS — ENGLAND'S UNIVERSAL SHILLING 
— THE GLACIERS — SESSION OF THE SWISS LEGISLATURE — 

NATURE OP THE GOVERNMENT NO VETO — REVENUE AND 

ARMY — ROADS — EDUCATION — SWISS INDEPENDENCE — THE 
TWO REPUBLICS — PENNSYLVANIAN GERMAN. 

Lake Leman, Switzerland, July 21, 1867. 

Just before leaving Paris I visited the palace of the 
Louvre, the matchless museum of ancient and modern art, 
which, together with the palace of the Tuileries (both 
having been united by Napoleon III. at an enormous out- 
lay, in accordance with the plan of the Pirst Napoleon), 
covers an area of sixty acres in the very heart of the city. 
These vast collections, including the master-pieces of every 
variety of antique and modern statuary, paintings, frescoes, 
tapestries, medals, many of the trophies of Bonaparte him- 
self, with the bed he slept on, his furniture, his plate, the 
clothes he wore in battle, and his imperial robes, are not to 
be seen in a day, or a week, or to be counted by ordinary 
rules. It is an accepted estimate that to see them with any 
satisfaction you must walk through at least five miles of gal- 



2IO Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

leries. The sight was one that first tempted, then baffled 
description. Every picture was a study, a human history of 
itself, and a marvel of human genius. When I tell you that the 
''long gallery " of the Louvre alone contains eighteen hun- 
dred paintings of the earlier Italian, Spanish, French, Flem- 
ish, and German schools, and that there are additional gal- 
leries dedicated to living artists, galleries set apart to tlie 
Egyptian collections, galleries containing the relics and 
memorials of the great sovereigns of Europe, from Charle- 
magne to Louis Philippe, galleries of naval architecture, 
galleries of Chinese art, aud galleries of bronze and marble 
sculpture, you will see the folly of any attempted delineation. 
Absorbed in this world of wonders, nothing was more in- 
teresting to me than the large number of persons engaged 
in making copies of these precious productions. Some 
were men far advanced in life, others mere lads, and many 
of them young aud beautiful women ; and it was astonish- 
ing how faithfully the}^ sketched from the originals, and how 
little they were disturbed by the spectators who crowded 
around their easels. These immense stores of human in- 
tellect are opened every day in the week but Monday, free 
of cost to the multitude, and the visitors make up an almost 
perpetual procession ; and how orderly, respectful, and 
silent I Here, as everywhere in France, the fact that every 
thing curious belonging to the government can be seen and 
not touched, inspires a sort of veneration which sanctities 
the statue and the painting, and even allows the most 
tempting fruits aud flowers to ripen and bloom in the open 
spaces without spoliation. That such a S3^stem will eu- 
courage and lead young ambition from poverty to fame is 
only natural, and hence I was not surprised to hear that 
" The Louvre " was a great school, its graduates were 
numerous and many of them distinguished in the realms 
of art. I saw that some of the copies were nearly finished ; 
and as the students were giving their last touches they 
seemed to be marvellously accurate. They are sold for the 



Switzerland, 1 1 1 

benefit of the artist, and often at higli prices. Indeed a 
very important trade has grown up in the sale of the copies 
of the celebrated masters, ancient and modern, of France, 
Germany, and Italy ; and in the galleries of Home, Flor- 
ence, Yenice, Naples, Berlin, Yienna, and Dresden may be 
found hosts of young women and men, educating and sus- 
taining themselves by what becomes not merely a labor of 
love, but ultimately a very passion itself 

Since leaving Paris I have enjoyed a far nobler spectacle 
than the Palace of the Louvre. I have seen Nature in her 
grandest and loveliest forms in Switzerland ; although man, 
during long centuries, has done much to beautify what was 
itself originally and always beautiful. After more than a 
week's travel through a succession of unrivalled scenery, I 
find mj^self this exquisite Sabbath morning writing to my 
friends of The Press and Chronicle from the Hotel 
Byron, on the shores of Lake Leman, or Geneva, within 
easy sight of the castle immortalized by the noble poem of 
" The Prisoner of Chillon.". I do not wonder that poets 
have sung and painters have painted this earthly paradise. 
The deep blue waters of the lake (which is fifty-five miles 
long, in some places nine miles and a quarter and in others 
only one mile and a half wide) stretch before me without a 
wave, and almost without a sail. Enclosed by mountains 
on the four sides, it seems more like a magical than a natural 
picture ; but the green and silent vineyards, the bright and 
distant cottages and villages, the luxurious residences of 
the rich, the palatial hotel in which I sit, and " the sound 
of the church-going bell " from the neighboring town of 
Yilleneuve (being the first distinctive Protestant music I 
have heard since I left England), speak the language of 
eloquent and significant reality. These enchanting shores 
have for centuries furnished themes for the writers of all 
nations. Yoltaire and Goethe speak of them with the same 
enthusiasm. Within a few miles is the lovely hamlet of 



212 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

Clarens, immortalized by Kousseau in his impassionate 
romance, The Nouvelle Heloise. 

Alexander Dumas compares Lake Leman with the gor- 
geous bay of Naples. From Lausanne to Geneva the ride 
by carriage, rail, or steamer is indescribably beautiful. 
Thousands scorn all artificial aids, and prefer to walk along 
these classic haunts. There is no heat, very little dust, no 
flies in the day, no mosquitoes at night, and such an equal 
temperature that figs, pomegranates, and oranges flourish 
in the open air; and the wine of the vicinage is of wide 
celebrity. The hotels, watering-places, and country-houses 
of Switzerland are all studies, and most of them models. 
Immeasurably assisted by Nature, they have been located 
in the most romantic spots, and surrounded with the most 
admirable facilities. The Baur au Lac (" The Man on the 
Lake"), at Zurich; The BernerhoflT, at Berne; The Guss- 
bach ('* The Gushing Water "), on the lovely Lake of 
Brienz, reminding one vividly of West Point and the 
Hudson, only sweeter and grander ; The Beau Rivage 
(" Beautiful Shore"), on Lake Lausanne ; The Schweizer- 
hof, on Lake Lucerne; The Victoria, at Interlachen; 
Monnet, at Yevay ; The Bellevue, on Lake Thun ; and the 
Hotel Byron (where I am now sojourning), constitute a 
succession of views, so panoramic when drawn out by the 
painter, that if you have not seen and enjoyed their 
substantial advantages, you would declare them to be fancy 
pieces. And in my passage from Berne to Zurich and 
back to Berne to the present point, I have found every 
new scene more beautiful than the last, and every new 
wonder more wonderful than its predecessor. 

The Swiss hotels are always full in the summer season, 
and the stream of travel often becomes a torrent ; hence 
the necessity of telegraphing for rooms. The tourists are 
of all degrees and languages, but the English and Americans 
seem to be the majority after the natives themselves ; my 
own countrymen, I am happy to say, being generally 



Switzerland, 213 

popular because of the liberality of their opinions, the 
generosity of their expenditures, and the courtesy of their 
manners. I have not found the English either overbearing 
or selfish. They have been invariably polite and well-bred. 
Keticent they are to a fault ; but when they discover their 
fellow-travellers as willing to impart as to ask information, 
they are really engaging and valuable companions. They 
seem to have generally abandoned the habit (if the intelli- 
gent among them ever possessed it) of underrating the 
Americans, and I have yet to meet the first one who does 
not give us credit for the manner in which we suppressed 
the rebellion, disbanded our army, and commenced the 
ra]Did reduction of our colossal indebtedness. Yet, large 
as is the travel on the Continent, and superior as are the 
accommodations, nothing is more apparent than that the 
people do not enjoy the same advantages in their inter- 
course with each other so universal in the United States. 
The wealthy classes alone make up the tourists ; and you 
soon discern the difference between a watering-place in 
Switzerland and a watering-place in America. At the 
latter all is good-humor, bustle, and an absence of caste ; 
whereas at the former all is cold, silent, courtly, and slow ; 
each group keeping to itself; even Americans may live in 
the same hotel for a month without making or renewing 
acquaintance. 

Switzerland is about one-third the size of Pennsylvania, 
with a population of 2,534,242 in 1860, of which 1,483,498 
are Protestant, and 1,040,534 Catholic. At least one-third 
of the Republic is composed of sterile mountams, and 
although nowhere on the face of the earth is there a more 
industrious or frugal race, yet it often happens that the 
labors of the summer barely suffice to maintain their 
families during the winter. I saw very little that gave me 
pain in Switzerland, unless it was the custom of forcing 
females to undergo field, stable, and other hard labor. It 
was repulsive to see women rowing the boats, cleaning and 



214 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

feeding the horses, canning huge burdens on their backs 
and heads, following the plough, gathering the harA'est, 
and almost living in the vineyards. The etiect is to make 
them prematurely old, and onh' exceptionally handsome. 
The villages in some of the Catholic cantons present a sad 
contrast to similar communities in our own country, with 
their heaps of manure directly under the windows, and 
frequentl}^ next to the front door itself, and with the ruined 
walls of theii' churches, the broken columns of their town 
halls, and the general dilapidation of houses, fitl}" in keep- 
ing with people old before their time, and surroimded by 
troops of withered children. 

I am glad to say I have seen but one beggar in Switzer- 
land. This is high praise compared with our experience 
in England, the country which accuses ^' the Yankees " of 
an absorbing love for the "universal dollar." There the 
universal shilling controls. The rule was unbroken, from 
the expectancy of the custom-house officer who waited for 
his fee before he passed your baggage, to the greediness 
of the ''lady " guide who showed j^ou through the halls of 
some aristocratic castle : from the clamorous beggar on the 
streets to the waiter in the hotels ; from the ragamuffin who 
insisted on opening your carriage-door to the portly mes- 
senger of Parliament. It was not much better in France, 
and my travelling companions speak of it as one of the 
worst of thousands of anno^^ances of Italy and Spain. 
And Switzerland is as clear of this pest as she is of 
soldiers and policemen. Even the children who followed 
us as we drove through the mountains offered fruits and 
flowers in exchange for centimes, and the women seasoned 
their importunities by tendering their exquisite wooden 
ornaments at the lowest prices. Nor is Switzerland 
ignorant of her superiority in this respect ; for she prints 
the fact in her records that while one out of ever}' eight in 
England, and one out of every nine in France and Holland, 



Switzerland, 215 

lives by begging, only one out of twenty in Switzerland 
makes alms a means of subsistence. 

There is much to make the Swiss people proud of their 
country. Their mountains, lakes, rivers, and glaciers, will 
make it an object of increasing interest to the learned and 
scientific, the wealthy and the wise, to " the last syllable 
of recorded time." I will not undertake to tell you how 
the proofs of the power of the Creator affected me, nor how 
utterly insignificant the most ambitious must feel in the 
presence of these gigantic natural monuments. I have 
been convinced anew in this brief tour, that the best way 
to know God is to know man, to study nature in all her 
forms, and that he who would learn his highest obligations 
to the One and his close relations to the other, should 
travel in his own and foreign lands. There is no volume 
so full of interest as that of human experience and inter- 
course. 

When Lord Byron visited Rome, and for the first time 
saw the Coliseum, St. Peter's and the Pantheon, he finely 
portrayed the efiTect of opening the mind, accustomed to 
local or diminutive objects, to the comprehension of other 
and grander things • 

Enter : its grandeur overwhelms thee not : 
And why ? It is not lessen'd ; but thy mind, 
Expanded by the genius of the spot, 
Has grown colossal, and can only find 
A fit abode wherein appear enshrined 
Thy hopes of immortality ; and thou 
Shalt one day, if found worthy, so defined, 
See thy God face to face, as thou dost now 
His Holy of Holies, nor be blasted by his brow. 

Thou movest, but increasing with the advance, 
Like climbing some great Alp, which still doth rise, 
Deceived by its gigantic elegance ; 
Yastness which grows, but grows to harmonize, 
All musical in its immensities ; 
14 



2i6 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe. 

Rich marbles, richer paintings — shrines where flame 
The lamps of gold — and haughty dome which vies 
In air with Earth's chief structures, though their frame 
Sits on the firm-set ground, and this the clouds must claim. 

Thou seest not all ; but piecemeal thou must break, 
To separate contemplation, the great whole ; 
And as the ocean many bays will make 
That ask the eye — so here condense thy soul 
To more immediate objects, and control 
Thy thoughts until thy mind hath got by heart 
Its eloquent proportions and unroll 
In mighty graduations, part by part, 
The glory which at once upon thee did not dart. 

Not by its fault — but thine : Our outward sense 
Is but of gradual grasp — and as it is 
That what we have of feeling most intense 
Outstrips our faint expression ; even so this 
Outshining and o'erwhelming edifice 
Fools our fond gaze, and greatest of the great 
Defies at first our Nature's littleness. 
Till, growing with its growth, we thus dilate 
Our spirits to the size of that they contemplate. 

It was with some such emotions as these that I saw, for 
the first time, the glaciers of Switzerland — those long arms 
of solid ice, resembling frozen cataracts, estimated to attain 
a thickness of 1,500 feet, exposing their glittering pinna- 
cles in immediate contact with corn-fields, fruit trees, smil- 
ing meadows, and human habitations. Unprepared for 
any such experience by all I had read of these majestic 
marvels, you will perhaps share my feelings when I saw 
the mighty " Jungfrau," or ''Young Woman's Mountain,'' 
at Interlachen and all along the glorious valleys of Lake 
Thun, exposing her snow-crowned forehead and giant 
limbs, all unmelting, under the hot rays of a July sun — the 
white brilliancy of her robe shining in dazzling purity be- 
tween two other mouaitains, both clothed in the verdure of 



Switzerland, 217 

a ripe summer, and one of them half-covered with a crop 
of growing vines. • She seemed to be so near that with a 
glass I could see what seemed to be the fresh-fallen snow 
Not less overwhelming were these feelings as afterwards I 
passed into one of these monstrous caves and saw a stu- 
pendous mass of azure ice of inconceivable thickness, cut 
into galleries, which extended far into the heart of the 
mountain, lighted by torches, and leading into a saloon of 
solid ice, where, seated on blocks of the same material, 
were two Swiss women playing and singing their native 
airs. The glacial domain of Switzerland extends from 
Mount Blanc to the Ortler, and the area thus occupied is 
computed at nine hundred square miles ! 

But the people of Switzerland have other things to be 
proud of; and the simplicity of their lives, the order that 
everywhere compels the praise of the stranger, and the 
absence of the want that disfigures the great centres of 
English population, and of the vice that degrades Paris, 
prove that they are not insensible to their advantages over 
the masses of the European monarchies. I allude, of 
course, to their political institutions, including education, 
civil rights, finance, and government generally. I have 
already described the legislative bodies of England and 
France. Last Friday I had an opportunity of contrasting 
them with the Swiss Congress, now in session at Berne, 
and also of studying the closeness of the likeness between 
the latter and the deliberative assemblies in America. 
There are three bodies, all elected by universal suffrage — - 
every Swiss who has attained the age of twenty years being 
a voter. " The supreme power " is the Congress, or, as 
they call it, " The Federal Assembly," consisting of the 
National Council and the Council of the States — answer- 
ing to our House of Representatives and the Senate, the 
first elected for five years, one member for each 20,000 of 
the entire population, and the other for three years, each 
of the twenty-two Cantons electing two members. The 



2 1 8 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

Cabinet, or "Federal Council," composed of seven mem- 
bers, and serving for three years, is elecjied by the Federal 
Assembly — the body nearest the people — and is always 
completely under its control. This Cabinet is the execu- 
tive of the Kepublic ; its President signing bills, and per- 
forming other ministerial functions, at a salary of about 
two thousand dollars per annum. The members of Con- 
gress are all paid by the people who elect them. Whenever 
any one of these members violates the wishes of his con- 
stituents, or is guilty of corruption, which is rarely the 
case, he is instantly dismissed. The elections always take 
place on Sunday, after service, in order to add to the 
sanctity of suffrage, and to prevent all dissipation at the 
polls, and every voter must sign his name on his ballot. 
The Cabinet meets at half-past seven o'clock and the Con- 
gress at half-past eight o'clock in the morning, and when 
we came into the Capitol, about nine o'clock a. m., both 
bodies were under way, the Cabinet having already made 
up its report for presentation, and the Ministers were pre- 
parmg to take their places for the purpose of defending 
their propositions and answering an}'' questions that might 
be put to them. The hall of the popular branch is very 
much like the hall of the House of Representatives at Har- 
risburg, only that the gallery is raised over the Speaker's 
chair. Everybody is admitted. There was no permit, no 
Life Guards, no bewigged chancellors; no sworded presi- 
dent, no stars and garters, as at Westminster in London; 
and no bayonets outside and no bells in the Speaker's 
hands inside, no muffling of debate on the one hand and no 
secresy of debate on the other, as in France. The galleries 
had a few spectators, and people were passing in and out 
precisely as they do in our State Legislature. 

The President was an exceedingly dignified person, and 
stated the question with great distinctness. Three lan- 
guages were spoken during the debate, German, French, 
and Italian, all the members being able to understand each 



Switzerland, 219 

other ; and the speaker's words were taken down in such 
case by duly-appointed reporters. The ease, fluency, and 
courtesy of the speakers were noteworthy. We then 
passed into the other or Senate side, called here the 
" Council of the States," a chamber nearly a copy of the 
Senate chamber at Harrisburg, though smaller. The" two 
bodies sit till about half-past twelve p. m., when they ad- 
journ for dinner, leaving the afternoon to correspondence 
and committee work. The sessions last about two months 
every year. You will notice that the whole idea of govern- 
ment in Switzerland is to confide nothing to the Executive. 
A strong effort was made a year ago to clothp the Execu- 
tive or " Federal Council " with the veto power, but in the 
midst of the movement President Johnson's extraordinary 
exhibitions took place and led to its instant abandonment. 
The total receipts for the year 1866 were a little over 
twenty-one millions of francs, or about five millions of dol- 
lars, and the total expenditures a little over twenty-two 
millions five hundred thousand francs. To provide for the 
deficiency of about fifteen hundred thousand francs was the 
subject before the Cabinet on Friday morning last. There 
is no standing army in Switzerland, and no Canton can 
maintain more than three hundred regular troops without 
the consent of the republic. You have already been in- 
formed of the biennial " Schiitzenfest," when the best 
marksmen with the rifle are paid liberally for their profi- 
ciency — a volunteer army which may be instantly called 
into the field ; but there is an armed force, called " the Elite 
Federale," and the '* Keserve," consisting of men between 
twenty and thirty-four, and another body called the 
"Landwehr," composed of men up to their forty-fifth 
year, not included in the above classes. These men com- 
pose a united force of over 180,000 men. They are only 
drilled and kept under arms at regular short intervals, and 
both officers and men are compelled to undergo a severe 
training at the " Cadets' Institute," the West Point of 



220 Colonel Forney^ s Letters from Europe, 

Switzerland — the main brancli of which I had an opportu- 
nity of seeing at Thun, where again I noticed the same 
simplicity and order, the same absence of all display, so 
apparent in the government offices at Berne. 

The splendid roads of Switzerland, the admiration of all 
who have seen and used them, winding around the steepest 
mountains, and making every stream and lake still more 
inviting to the traveller, are maintained by the Grcneral 
Government and the Cantons conjointly. Education is 
obligatory, the people being allowed only to say how long 
they will tax themselves for that purpose. In some of the 
Catholic Cantons, popular intelligence has been steadily 
opposed until recently, when its advantages are becoming 
too apparent to be decently resisted. The seat of learning 
is in the Protestant communities, and the three great uni- 
versities at Basle, Berne, and Zurich, with their 115 profes- 
sors, thirty-one private tutors, and five hundred students, 
together with the influential academies at Geneva and 
Lucerne, with their forty-five professors, all under the same 
influence, show that Switzerland has undertaken a work 
which lacks no one element to make it complete. The 
Protestant is the religion of the State; but the Con- 
stitution solemnly declares that every Swiss citizen of 
Christian faith is at liberty to settle where he pleases, and 
that all religious sects shall be tolerated. The press is 
wholly untrammelled, and many who cannot print their 
thoughts in France and Austria come here to prepare and 
publish them. 

Switzerland has always been the refuge of the persecuted 
and the oppressed of every creed and crime. Near the 
spot where I am now writing repose the remains of the 
regicides, Ludlow and Broughton, who assisted in the 
trial and condemnation of Charles I. of England. On 
the restoration of Charles 11. he demanded that they 
should be surrendered to him; but Switzerland refused 
to comply; and when Louis Philippe, in 1840, insisted 



Switzerland, 221 

that Switzerland should expel Louis ISTapoleon from 
Switzerland, after the failure of the Strasburg movement, 
when he returned hither from America to be present at the 
death-bed of his mother, Hortense, the same spirit that 
formerly had declined to yield to England prompted 
Switzerland to decline the demand of the French monarch. 
It is said to the honor of Louis Napoleon that he has never 
forgotten this act of courageous friendship, and that, how- 
ever his ambition might lead him to envy possession of the 
Swiss republic, his affectionate gratitude will protect her 
in all her isolated democracy. Many other instances may 
be cited to show how faithfully the sacred rites of hospi- 
tality to the oppressed have been observed by the free 
people of Switzerland. 

There are many things to endear Switzerland to an 
American; and it did not require my presence here to 
convince me that my beloved country was the object of the 
unceasing veneration of her people and her statesmen ; but 
personal experience could alone give me a full idea of their 
fervid affection for the United States. Our failure to over- 
throw the rebellion would have been their sure absorption 
into and division among the surrounding monarchies. They 
mourned over the murdered Lincoln like ourselves ; for they 
feared that his death would be the death of a cause in which 
they had every thing at stake. A necessary discretion 
separates them from the warring factions of the military 
governments around them, but their philosophers do not 
conceal or attempt to deny that the success of freedom in 
the New World has opened a wider and grander sphere to 
Switzerland. It gives her confidence in her mission, and 
has reared up friends who will never see her cut to pieces 
to feed the ravenous lions of despotism, 

I saw much in Switzerland to remind me of Pennsylvania. 
Berne resembles Reading in our State, and is backed by a 
high mountain, like the capital of Berks, though by no 
means so beautiful and fresh a city. As we passed through 



222 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

tlie markets of Berne early one morning, the German 
tongue, so familiar to my youthful ears a generation ago, 
keenly recalled the market people of my native town of 
Lancaster. The names on the signs and the streets, the 
unpainted farm-houses in the gorges of the mountains, the 
ubiquitous barns, were only the originals from which the 
German counties of Pennsylvania have so frequently and 
faithfully copied. And as I looked out from my bed-room 
window, before closing this long and I fear uninteresting 
epistle, and saw the beautiful and quiet lake ploughed by 
the gay steamer filled with people going to Geneva, I did 
not try to resist the thought that it was to the Pennsyl- 
vanian or even to the Lancaster-county Fulton that man- 
kind is indebted for the agency that is rapidly revolution- 
izing the world. 



XL.— SWISS TOWNS. 

PEDESTRIANS IN SWITZERLAND — INTERLACHEN — CLERICAL 
ZEAL — THUN — LOUIS NAPOLEON — LAUSANNE — LUCERNE — 
THE RHIZA — MOUNT PILATUS — LAKE AND TOWN OE ZURICH. 

Yevay, July 23, 1867. 

It is impossible to do justice to the Swiss towns — as well 
those which are located among the glaciers as those which 
repose in simple and in sylvan beauty along these exquisite 
lakes. Here I am seated in the Hotel Monnet, or Three 
Crowns, at Yevay, a hamlet in the very midst of vineyards, 
in the Canton of Yaud, on the Lake of Geneva, and com- 
manding an extensive and striking view of the Alpine 
range. Nothing can be more beautiful than the outspread 
panorama, nor more attractive than this quiet hotel and 
the cluster of ancient houses by which it is surrounded. 



Swiss Towns, 223 

For a moderate charge you can obtain a carriage at 
Vevay, and ride along tlie border of the lake to neighboring 
antiquities and towns. Many persons prefer this mode of 
travel (especially those who have leisure), audit is surpris- 
ing at how little cost a pedestrian journey can be made. I 
met hundreds of intelligent and prosperous people walking 
tranquilly through these lovely paths, resting in shady dells, 
making sketches of the numerous beauties of art and nature, 
and even wiling away their time with pleasant books, thus 
proving that for them at least, the bustle of the outer world 
had no charms, and its excitement no vexations. 

It is difficult to say which is the most attractive of these 
Swiss towns, but if I were compelled to select, I should 
decide upon Interlachen, Zurich, and Thun. A broad road, 
about a mile in length, bordered with immense walnut 
trees, is considered the main street of Interlachen. On 
the right side are many large, .well-built modern houses, 
generally occupied by English families, circled by taste- 
fully laid-out gardens, and uniting all the advantages of 
modern country life. The Hotel Victoria, at Interla(}hen, 
although not old, has achieved a world-wide fame, because 
of the excellence of its fare, the moderation of its prices, 
and the singular advantages of its position — facing, as it 
does, the snow-capped Jungfrau (the Young Woman's 
Mountain), and adjacent to other grand and imposing nat- 
ural objects. Many invalids prefer Interlachen to the 
more fashionable spas, on account of the purity of its air 
and its almost unbroken tranquillity. I met a number of 
Americans who had left the crowded resorts for the purpose 
of spending some weeks in this delightful retreat. At In- 
terlachen, as elsewhere, I found the printed circulars of the 
Church of England, announcing that divine service would 
be held every Sunday during the season at eleven o'clock 
in the morning and six o'clock in the evening. The syste- 
matic energy of the persons engaged in this work is hand- 
somely sustained by generous contributions from tourists ; 



224 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

and it is a real satisfaction, even to those wlio are not at- 
tached to thn.t particular Church, to enjoy the sermons 
which are frequently delivered by eminent clergymen on 
their travels. 

The excursion from Interlachen to the Giesbach, opposite 
Brientz, by a small steamer three times a day, is delightful. 
The Giesbach is a celebrated cascade, formed by torrents 
which descend from the mountains. Every evening during 
the season, about 9 o'clock, this cascade is illuminated, and 
presents a magnificent spectacle as the different colors of 
the artist are reflected on the falling waters, which look like 
one moving cloud of variegated snow. 

Early in the morning we took the steamer for Thun, and 
reached it after a lovely trip of about an hour. Lake Thun 
is in length between four and five leagues, and in breadth 
one league. The approach to Thun is singularly picturesque. 
The chateaux of the wealthy and nobility, some of them 
bearing the marks of centuries, and others constructed in 
the very best style of modern architecture, are placed in 
the most favorable localities, and, as the little steamer 
winds along, a combination is presented that has inspired 
many of the finest productions of genius. Thun itself is 
an old and romantic town. The appearance of one street 
is very remarkable ; it is a somewhat steep acclivity, with 
a horizontal terrace on each side supported by low columns 
gradually diminishing in height, and divided into square 
compartments. The western part of the town is situated 
on an islet formed by two branches of the river, and tra- 
versed by a single street, the Rosengarten. The best time 
to see Thun and its environs is between nine and ten in the 
morning, when the mountains are lighted up by the sun, 
forming a panorama of natural grandeur nowhere surpassed 
even in Switzerland, Louis Napoleon was partly educated 
at Thun, and some very strange stories are told of his 
youthful days. From Thun to Berne the ride by rail is 
very short. * 



Swiss Towns 225 

As I liave already described the political capital of 
Switzerland, I will bring this letter to a close by a short 
description of Ziirich ; but I cannot avoid a passing tribute 
to Lausanne, the capital of the Canton de Yaud, half a 
league from the shore of Lake Geneva, where at the Hotel 
Beau-Rivage ("Beautiful Shore") I passed some hours of 
unforgotten pleasure. The magnificent sights of Lau- 
sanne, the dresses of the inhabitants, with all the luxuries 
and without the vices of great cities, continue to make it a 
favorite with travellers from all parts of Europe. 

On the way to Zurich we stopped at Lucerne, at the 
famous Hotel of Schweitzerhoff, which commands a fine 
view of the Lake of Lucerne, having the Rhigi Mountain on 
the left, to the top of which thousands on thousands have 
toiled for the purpose of witnessing the effects of the rising 
and setting of the sun in the extensive range of the moun- 
tains, lakes, valleys, and plains, in the centre of which it 
rises. Our great traveller, James Eenimore Cooper, de- 
scribes his sensations when he first beheld the wonders of 
nature from that dazzling height. He says : 

The occasion of a total eclipse of the sun excepted, I' never felt 
so deep a sentiment of admiration and awe as at that exquisite 
moment. So greatly did reality exceed the pictures we had formed, 
that the surprise was as complete as if nothing had been expected. 
The first effect was really bewildering, leaving behind it a vague 
sensation that the eye had strangely assembled the rarest ele- 
ments of scenery which were floating before it, without order, in 
pure wantonness. To this feeling the indefinite form of the Lake 
of Lucerne greatly contributed, for it stretches out its numerous 
arms in so many directions as at first to appear like water in the 
unreal forms of the fancy. Yolumes of mist were rolhng swiftly 
along it, at the height of about two thousand feet above its sur- 
face, and of as many below ourselves, allowing us to look through 
the openings in a way to aid the illusion. 

Erom the same point we saw the tremendous mountain 
range of Pilatus, the intermediate distances being filled up 



226 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe^ 

by tlie grand and beautiful scenery for whicli Lake Lucerne 
is so renowned. Lake Ziirich, bordering the city, is cele- 
brated in song and story, and perhaps nothing of reality 
has ever so completely justified the raptures of those who 
have seen it. The town itself contains a population of 
21,000, and is supposed to be l,2t9 feet above the level of 
the sea. It is famous for its universities, its museurds, its 
libraries, its musical societies, and the high culture and 
enterprise of its inhabitants. The Hotel Baur au Lac, sup- 
ported by the Americans and English, is situated on the 
border of the lake, with elaborate gardens extending to the 
shore, arranged with arbors and pavilions, secluded from 
the sun. From these shores pleasure-boats are constantly 
setting forth during the evening, filled with gay company. 
The hotel and grounds command beautiful and varied views. 
The vicinage of the lake is certainly among the most inter- 
estiug of this peculiar country. Of the forty castles which 
formerly bordered this fine piece of water, the remains of 
only four are now to be seen. There are eighteen parochial 
villager in the vicinity, which, with the houses of individu- 
als on each side, contain from 30,000 to 35,000 inhabitants. 
The Swiss are very proud of Ziirich, calling it their Athens, 
and during my brief stay I saw enough to convince me that 
it deserved its name. 

It is worthy of special notice that there are 485,000 
heads of families in Switzerland, of which number 465,000 
possess landed property. Of the 2,534,242 inhabitants of 
Switzerland, only 500,000 have no landed possession. Of 
every 100 square miles, 20 are pasture, IT forest, 11 arable, 
20 meadow, 1 vineyard, and 30 uncultivated or covered 
by water- rocks, and glaciers. Of every 1000 persons, 102 
speak German, 226 French, 55 Italian, and IT Romansch, 
a dialect of the Romanic tongue. In 16 out of the 22 can- 
tons the German element rules ; among them Ziirich and 
Berne, the two leading cantons of the republic. 



The Swiss Republic, 227 



XLI.— THE SWISS EEPUBLIC. 

PREDOMINANT RELIGION — JOHN CALVIN — CELEBRITIES OF GE- 
NEVA — MONT BLANC — SAVOY WATCH-MAKING— UNDER- 
PAID WORKMEN— tEREE TRADE AND PROTECTION — HORACE 
UPTON. 

Geneva, July 23, 1867. 

Geneva is a city of peculiar interest to Americans, as 
well because it is the largest city in Switzerland, and the 
seat where most of the watches and much of the ornamen- 
tal jewelry used in the United States are manufactured, as 
because the great reformer, John Calvin, whose doctrines 
have been adopted by millions of Christians in both 
hemispheres, long lived there. N'ot so beautiful as Ziirich, 
Interlachen, Lucerne, Thun, Lausanne, or Berne, it is 
worth a visit, as well for its historical as its natural sur- 
roundings. First mentioned by Julius Caesar, it passed 
under Roman rule fourteen hundred and fifty years ago, 
since which time it has been the centre of events that 
would have immortalized the most extended empire. 
Though the whole canton is not so large as the District of 
Columbia, and the city's population is smaller than that 
of Washington City, the proudest boast of Geneva to this 
day is that of preserving its sovereign independence 
against all adversaries, and of closely adhering to that 
pure Christian faith now so widely and so fervently fol- 
lowed. The early discords between the Catholic Church 
and the Dukes of Savoy prepared the people of Geneva for 
the Ke formed Eeligion as it sprung from the heroic ex- 
ample of Martin Luther in neighboring Germany ; and 
when Calvin, at the age of twenty-seven, went to Geneva, 



'22S Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

expelled from France for his sympathy with that mighty 
movement, he soon completed the work of conversion by 
his resistless rhetoric against what he called the corrup- 
tions of the Romish Church. From that day, over three 
hundred years ago, the influence of the latter denomina- 
tion has ceased at Geneva ; and although there is still a 
large Catholic party here, all the peculiar public observ- 
ances of that Church are now sternly prohibited by law. 
The Swiss Government, as I stated in a former letter, is 
not only a perfectly free but a thoroughly Protestant one ; 
and Geneva is one of its strongest pillars. 

Necker, the father of Madame de Stael, and the famous 
finance minister under Louis XYI., was born here, and 
also the celebrated Jean Jacques Rousseau. Geneva was 
the birthplace of the naturalists Deluc, Bonnet, and De 
Saussure (the first to make the perilous ascent of Mont 
Blanc), the historian Sismondi, and D'Aubigne, the 
historian of ''The Reformation," who is still living here. 
The geographical and historical associations of the place 
attract crowds of strangers, and I have been surprised 
to notice among the list of arrivals a majority of Ameri- 
cans, many of them citizens of Washington and Phila- 
delphia. Mont Blanc, with its mantle of ice and snow, 
though sixty miles off, seems to be within easy walking 
distance, and almost laughs defiance at the blazing July 
sun, which (even-tempered as it is by the balmy airs of the 
Lake, of which Geneva is the southern extremity) pours 
down its fiercest beams upon the white streets of the city. 
Directly opposite is Savoy, the new acquisition of Louis 
Napoleon — a sort of present from Victor Emmanuel for 
the aid rendered by the Emperor of the French in the con- 
summation of united Italy. The transfer of Savoy is a sore 
topic to the statesmen and people of Switzerland ; and I 
do not wonder, for a more lovely land is not often seen 
than that over which the tri-color now waves in triumph. 
It is a domain as large as Maryland, and therefore larger 



The Swiss Republic, 11^ 

than Switzerland, and extends to the Mediterranean, with 
the dazzling winter metropolis of Nice, also added to 
France in 1860, for its chief city. The vine-clad hills of 
Savoy stretch away as far as the eye can reach, and Napo- 
leon is doing his uttermost to convince his new subjects 
that his rule is better than that under which they formerly 
lived. ' Aware of the anxiety of the Swiss to obtain this 
fair and fertile territory, he submitted the question to the 
people of Savoy whether they desired to be annexed *to 
France, and they decided affirmatively ; but it is not denied 
that the influence of the Catholic Church, and the hostility 
to the stern Protestantism of government rule in Switzer- 
land, were the causes that produced the majority. Imme- 
diately after this vote Napoleon began to erect fortifications 
opposite Geneva, which was met by a fierce opposition in 
Switzerland. The design that undoubtedly looked to a 
dangerous contingency was gracefully abandoned. In the 
environs of Geneva you are shown the Chateau Diodati, the 
residence of Lord Byron in 1816, when he composed * Man- 
fred " and part of '' Childe Harold;" the Chateau L'lmper- 
atrice, formerly occupied by the Empress Josephine ; the 
magnificent palace and grounds of the Baron Adolph Roth- 
schild; the country-seat of the present Sir Robert Peel, 
and other abodes of noted persons of past and present 
times. The ancient parts of the city are composed of high, 
dark tenements, most of them centuries old, and streets so 
narrow that the occupants of opposite buildings can easily 
shake hands from their upper windows. 

There are four thousand persons employed in the manu- 
facture of watches alone, of which more than seventy-five 
thousand are made every year. The competition in this 
branch of manufactures by several New England houses 
excites a good deal of interest, for the trade with our 
country is of vast importance to Switzerland ; and the 
silks of Ziirich and the ribbons of Basle, like the watches, 
music-boxes and jewelry of Geneva, attract buyers from 



230 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

all our great cities. But labor is so poorl}^ paid here that 
it will be a long time before we can expert to compete suc- 
cessfully in these fabrics. Yet, in passing through the 
establishment of Patek, Phillippe & Co., the great watch- 
makers of Geneva, who employ some two thousand work- 
men, I saw that the genius and energy of their rivals in 
America were fully appreciated, and m}'- guide informed me 
that not many years would elapse before watches, as per- 
fect in all respects as their world-renowned chronometers, 
would be made in our country. I regret that time will 
not allow me to give a full description of this unrivalled 
manufactory. 

I wish some of our American free-traders, especially 
those who are constantly telling our workingmen that it is 
to their interest to break down all protection of home-in- 
dustries, could see how the very best mechanics are com- 
pensated in the countries where free trade prevails. A 
gentleman who has resided in Geneva for several years 
said to me yesterday that the masses of the laboring popu- 
lation do not get meat at their meals six times a year, and 
that they are almost universally kept working from sun- 
rise to sunset in the longest days. The advocates of free 
trade in the TJnited States, generally the importers of New 
York, are all aware that their great fortunes are coined out 
of what is almost the pauper labor of Europe, and they 
know that when the restrictions against the product of this 
labor are removed, the immediate, irresistible result will 
be an equivalent reduction of the wages of our own work- 
men. That so plain a proposition should be denied by any 
American is only to be reconciled by the fact that he is 
pleading for his own selfish interests. No humane or prac- 
tical statesman of our country can long be misled by a 
doctrine so wicked and illogical as that of incorporating 
free trade into the laws of a Kepublic whose greatest tri- 
umphs have been won by her self-dependent people. God 
forbid that the day shall ever come ivhen the mechanics of 



The Swiss Republic, 231 

the United States are paid, and fed, and degraded, like the 
mechanics of free-trade England, France, Germany, or 
even republican Switzerland. It surprises me that any 
liberal thinker in Europe, who sees the sad oppression of 
the toiling millions around him, should ask the United 
States to cease protecting her great industries, even if the 
solemn duty of paying off our gigantic debt did not neces- 
sitate heavy taxes upon foreign importations ; and when 
I asked one of these men, a few days ago, to point to 
any civilized nation that, in the early stages of its exist- 
ence,' has been able to stand without protecting its infant 
manufactures, he was silent. Certainly this cannot be 
alleged of either England or France. Their past example 
is enough to show the insincerity of all their free-trade pro- 
fessions. The one which paid nearly a million of dollars 
subsidy to the Cunard line of steamers to maintain itself 
against American competition, like the other, with its vig- 
orous monopoly of the tobacco trade, is poorly qualified to 
rebuke a great nation like the United States. Perhaps the 
very best commentary on our present position was that of 
an eminent German banker whom I met last week on the 
cars : '' The example of your country in breaking down such 
a rebellion as that which attempted to assassinate your 
Government, as it assassinated your beloved Lincoln, and 
then in instantly dissolving a mighty army, and in immedi- 
ately proceeding to pay off the principal of its great debt, 
has no parallel in human history ; and if you did not lay 
heavy taxes upon foreign imports to assist you in this mag- 
nificent work, and so incidentally protect your home labor, 
you would simply ruin yourselves for the benefit of your 
foreign enemies. ^^ 

I cannot close this letter without a tribute to a faithful 
public servant, Horace Upton, Esq., the American consul 
at Geneva. I was prepared, from the reports of others, to 
find the same courteous and patriotic gentleman I had 
known in Washington at the outbreak of the rebellion, 

15 



232 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

when Ms fine estate at " Upton's Hill " was desolated by 
the contending armies, and especially by the traitors, who 
never forgave his early and continued devotion to his 
country. But it was only when I saw for myself his atten- 
tion to the interests of Americans and to his public duties, 
which are neither light nor always agreeable, that I under- 
stood the full value of such a man in such a post. Poorly 
paid, and constrained to cultivate the utmost economy, his 
refined family circle is the resort of our educated country 
people, and his benevolent eflbrts are alwa3's ready to 
assist the distressed. In saying this much I feel that I am 
doing simple justice to an honest, modest, and thorough- 
bred gentleman, and repeating the opinion of all American 
travellers. 



XLII— BADEN-BADEN. 

LEGALIZED GAMBLING — THE CONVERSATIONS HAUS — WEALTH 
AND POVERTY — THE GRAND DUKE — INFATUATED GAM- 
BLERS. 

Baden-Baden, July 26, 1867. 

An invalid Englishman, travelling, twenty years ago, as 
he expressed it, to find " a pleasant retreat in which to 
die," spoke of this famous watering-place as follows : 

It was with a rare audacity that the devil pitched his tent in 
Baden ! Perhaps, on the whole Continent, another spot could not 
be found so fully combining, in a small circuit, as many charms of 
picturesque scenery ; and it was a bold conception to set down 
Yice, in all its varieties, in the very midst of — in open contrast, as 
it were, to — a scene of peaceful loveliness and beauty. 

One-half this criticism — that which refers to the organ- 
ized and protected local wickedness — is beyond denial : 



Baden-Baden, i^^ 

but I have not been captivated by the supernal natural 
features of Baden-Baden. It is a charming combination 
of fine mountain scenery, and the town itself is interesting 
in its century-old houses, its modernized streets and build- 
ings, and its quaint rural avenues, in which curious wares 
in wood and crystal are sold to strangers ; but there are 
some grander and lovelier places in the United States, and 
certainly many in Switzerland. The chief feature of 
Baden-Baden is its legalized gambling-temple. This palatial 
edifice is called, by a strange misnomer, " the Conversation 
House." As a chief element and condition of all serious 
gaming is silence, the visitor is puzzled to know who sug- 
gested the inappropriate appellation. The Conversation 
House is a model of architecture, sculpture, and painting. 
The great assembly room, where the chief roulette table is 
to be found from eleven in the morning until twelve at 
night (Sundays not excepted), is nearly the size of the 
Musical Fund Hall, in Philadelphia, and its polished waxed 
floor, gorgeous drapery, elegant pier-glasses, and luxuri- 
ous sofas are in the best styles of European art. Here the 
balls and parties of the elite are also given ; upon which 
occasions the roulette table is removed to the adjoining 
rooms, equally splendid and ornate.. In these are always 
to be found, between the hours named, roulette tables and 
the great game of cards, called in French '' Trente-et- 
Quarante,^^ and in English " Thirty-and-Forty. " The other 
large saloons are styled the French and Italian rooms, and 
are connected -with others equally gorgeous. The whole is 
set ofi" by the most costly paintings, statues, fountains, 
orange, lemon, and flower trees, arranged in exquisite 
order. The splendid portico is adorned by eight Corin- 
thian pillars. On the south side is a restaurant caj^able of 
accommodating two hundred persons at a time. On the 
north is a reading-room and bookstore for French, English, 
Italian, German, and Spanish visitors ; and every evening 
an orchestra composed of experienced musicians, paid by 



234 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

the gamblers, discourses delicious music from a pagoda 
directly in front of the Conversation House, which attracts 
thousands, who occupy seats in the grounds and overflow 
into brilliant saloons, where the gamblers ply their never- 
ceasing and rarely-losing trade. Without this guilty 
attraction, Baden-Baden would be a resort b}^ no means as 
brilliant as Saratoga, Newport, Long Branch, Bedford, or 
Cape May, in the United States. Indeed, there is hardly 
one of these places that does not surpass it in natural 
advantages, and, apart from the objects of vertu accumu- 
lated for centuries, in artificial accommodations. At Baden, 
as elsewhere in Europe, the people are never seen, save in 
the surrounding villages, and farm-houses, where you find 
them in all the contrast of poverty, toil, and, too frequently, 
filth and rags. I was reminded of this truth yesterday 
afternoon in a short ride in the suburbs of Baden ; and I 
gladly recalled how different a sight would meet the stran- 
ger's eye as he roves through the splendid country near 
Newport, Rhode Island, or the glorious region around 
Saratoga, ISTew York, or the happy environs of such lovely 
countrj^ resorts as Bedford, Media, Ephrata, Bethlehem, 
West Chester, Chambersburg, Cresson, m my own State, 
where all are as comfortable as thej^ are free, where every 
farm-house is a little paradise of itself, and nearly every 
man the owner of his own house. 

The glory of Baden-Baden is, therefore, entirely depend- 
ent upon its gambling-houses, and the government of the 
city itself is mainly sustained by it. Mr. Benazet, the great 
head of the concern, is regularly licensed by the Grand 
Duke. He formerly farmed the gambling-houses of Paris, 
now prohibited by law. He began his double administra- 
tion of gambling and the government in 1838, by giving 
$45,000 for the improvement of the town, which has been 
followed by regular annual subsidies of equal liberality. 
He built the fine theatre, assisted in the introduction of 
gas, subscribed to the railroads, and, to use the language 



Baden-Baden, 235 

of the British chaplain, Kev. W. B. Flower, who has pre- 
pared the "Illustrated Gruide," "conferred very many- 
boons upon the poor and charitable institutions of Baden- 
Baden." But these are his voluntary gifts. In addition, 
he has to pay to the government of the Grand Duke, for 
his privileges, 65,000 florins, or $30,000 per annum, and 
one-half the annual expenses of all the public improve- 
ments, including repair of the roads, the police, the schools, 
&c., &c. The Grand Duchy of Baden is a narrow strip of 
country about twenty miles wide and two hundred miles 
in length ; is composed of four circles and has a Legis- 
lature (elected by the men over twenty-five years of age 
who are not in the army), which sits twice a year at 
Carlsruhe, the whole governed by a Grand Duke, who pos- 
sesses so large a private fortune that he ought to blush at 
the sale of a gambling-house license. It is easy to see that 
the real master of the situation is not the titled ruler, but 
the Emperor of the Roulette and the Czar of the Card 
Table ; and that, however right in a moral point of view it 
would be to reform the little principality, the political 
prince is too completely dependent upon the money despot 
to undertake the experiment. That experiment has been 
tried, but in every case abandoned before the liberal ad- 
vances of Mr, Benazet, who is not willing to surrender a 
monopoly which yields so many sure profits. Imagine a 
man like Hon. John Morrissey the owner of such a mo- 
nopoly in the United States ; and with his characteristic 
anxiety to show that, if a sinner in one respect, he can be 
a saint in many more, we should have a Baden-Baden in 
every State of the Union. 

You have only to visit the " Conversations Hans " to 
understand what streams of wealth pour into the coffers 
of the proprietor, and why he delights in such princely 
and politic generosity. The publicity of the practice, and 
the splendid temptations by which it is surrounded, at once 
blind the people to its wickedness and to the certainty of 



236 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

their losses, and so inflame and fire them with the gambler's 
passion. Heaven save my country from ever consenting 
to such a system, or becoming familiar to such sights I 
It is difficult to decide whether the people who subsist 
upon such bounties are to be pitied more than those who 
contribute to them are to be condemned. Imagine three 
immense halls, in each of which is a table about the size of a 
modern billiard board, surrounded by a crowd of men and 
women busy watching the movements of the gamblers who 
deal the cards at one of these tables and turn the roulette 
at the other two. There are four regular gamblef s at each 
table, two on each side, whose duties are to deal the cards 
or turn the roulette, watch the players, receive the money 
they lose, and paj?- out the money they win. It was re- 
volting to watch the players. Although the majority were 
men, some of them hard, impassive, and practised adepts, 
others young and impulsive tyros, yet every table had a 
number of females among the heaviest betters against the 
bank. Several of them were young and very beautiful ; but 
it was easy to see in their fixed stare at the cards or the 
wheel, in the anger with which they lost and the joy with 
which they won, that modesty and refinement were no 
longer among their accomplishments. I noted one in 
particular, dressed in brown silk, with brown gloves, brown 
bonnet, veil, and feather, who handed her gold coins to the 
croupier, and in a long series of wagers never won a 
Napoleon. When her purse was empty she rose from her 
chair, took her parasol from the porteress at the door, and 
walked away pale as a ghost. But even sadder than such 
a sight were the old-women gamblers, with their rheumy 
eyes, trembling hands, false hair, and paralytic excitement. 
Some of them belonged to the nobility, and frequent play- 
ing had made gambling a sort of necessary excitement to 
their declining years — a fearful preparation for the future 
and a terrible lesson to their children, if they had any. 
One of these crones had gained a great pile of gold, and as 



Feudality and Gambling, i^l 

she dropped the coins into her soiled portemonnaie she 
looked the very picture of a fiend — all the angel, even all 
the woman, lost forever. But the bank wins steadily. Its 
rapacious maw, always open, hungry, insatiate, is con- 
stantly fed by its absorbed and maddened votaries. 

Meanwhile the fountains plashed, the orchestra played, 
and the gay crowd passed and repassed in the outside 
alleys and colonnades. The children delighted not in their 
natural sports on the grass and flowers, but clustered 
around the groups at the tables, as if to learn the vices of 
their elders. Suicides are not uncommon at Baden, and 
incidents as full of romance as any that ever taxed the 
brain of the novelist are told among the common gossip of 
the place. I had heard and read so much of this famous 
resort, that I resolved to see it for the purpose of reaching 
the truth ; and I can only say, in conclusion, that if ever I 
felt proud of my ignorance of cards, and of gaming of all 
kinds, it was after witnessing the frightful reality of a day 
and a night at Baden-Baden. 



23 8 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 



XLIII.— FEUDALITY AND GAMBLING. 

A THRIVING GRAND DUCHY — RUINS OF HEIDELBERG CASTLE 

— MONUMENTS OF FEUDALITY LICENSED GAMBLING — THE 

BALL AT BADEN-BADEN. 

Heidelberg, July 27, 1867. 

The Grand Duchy of Baclen, though very small in a geo- 
graphical point of view, is susceptible of much more exten- 
sive cultivation, and contains within it more of the elements 
of real wealth than I supposed from a superficial glance. 
The ride from Baden-Baden to this point is through a 
country?- as level and as lovely as the bottom-lands of Dela- 
ware county, and the railroad from there to Heidelberg, 
fifty-eight miles in length, is quite a triumph in the 
smoothness of the track and the comfort of the cars. 
The towns on this route are all flourishing. Rastadt, the 
military station of the Duchy or Dukedom, is a hand- 
somely fortified tovfn filled with troops. Carlsruhe, the 
political capital, is one of the most attractive cities in Ger- 
many, with a larger population (25,000) than Heidelberg, 
and very beautiful buildings, including the Ducal Palace, 
where the reigning monarch resides during the session of 
his Congress. The plan of Carlsruhe resembles that of the 
city of Washington. Heidelberg is an ancient town of 
one street nearly three miles long, famous for its University, 
the oldest in Germany after that of Prague, and for its cas- 
tle, the ancient residence of the Electors Palatine, — then a 
Palace and a fortress, and now a mass of ruins, yet, as it 
overlooks the town, an object of singular impressiveness 
and grandeuro 

These old castles of the Old World, however picturesque 
their aspect, are the monuments of customs that can never 



m Feudality and Gambling, 239 

be revived, and are fast losing the veneration of intelligent 
men. In England alone they are carefully maintained. 
Elsewhere they are gener?ily permitted to decay. Italy is 
the vast grave-yard of a once proud nobility, now only 
known in the poverty or profligacy of its posterity, whose 
great houses are sold or rented to the stranger, and whose 
names are rarely heard among the nobler strifes of an en- 
lightened and innovating age. Spain is less happy in the 
condition of her old Castilian aristocracy, and in France, 
where the mighty landholders are no more, the law divides 
the soil among those who cultivate it, and few, save the 
sovereign, keep in repair those grand and costly establish- 
ments, which in other times, were alternately palaces and 
prisons. Germany does not care to excel in the preserva- 
tion of these fortresses of the past. Everywhere you see 
their remains, beautiful in ruin, and marking the contrast 
between what is, let us hope, a better and what was, we 
know, a darker era. But they are not all allowed to perish. 
Royalty frequently stops the work of time for the purpose 
of keeping alive its own ancestral fame ; and every petty 
prince, who has a domain as large as an American town- 
ship, and a subservient people, devotes a part of his revenue 
to the repair and adornment of the castles of his ancestors. 
The Grand Duke of Baden has several, in addition to 
that at Carlsruhe, upon which large sums are spent every 
year ; and doubtless not a little of the wealth earned by 
Monsieur Benazet, of the Conversations Haus, is so dis- 
tributed. The roads to two of these estates at Baden- 
Baden, Eberstein and the New Castle, both of them occa- 
sionally occupied by the Grand Duke and his family, are 
kept in admirable order, and the drives to them are much 
enjoyed by strangers. Winding along the mountains, you 
have commanding views of the surrounding country from 
various elevations, and when, you reach the castles them- 
selves the pictures, seen from the towers and walls, of the 



240 Colonel Forney s Letters from EuropSK, 

outspread valley, with tlie neighboring rivers and towns, 
are beautiful in the extreme. The guide points out to you 
the ancestors of the Grand Duke, beginning five hundred 
years back, and describes their deeds in battle and in coun- 
cil by various statues, pictures, arms, and relics ; and you 
leave with another lesson impressed upon the pages of your 
mind of the weakness of poor human nature. It may seem 
a little irreverent to those who value these shadows, but I 
could not help asking how much good all these perished 
mannikin-kings had done for their fellow-creatures, and 
how much gratitude, if they had done any, their living rep- 
resentative shows by consenting to subsist in part upon 
the proceeds of a gambling-mill, or by legalizing it as a 
pest-house among his simple and dependent people ? It is 
in vain to say that prerogative can long excuse such habi- 
tudes. The people may be polluted by a bad example, but 
they cannot be permanently deceived when all the world 
around is inspired by liberty and intelligence. It is 
worthy of observation, too, that the sovereign of the Grand 
Duchy of Baden has not the excuse which other German 
princes might make, in similar circumstances. The landed 
property of his house is estimated at about fifty million 
florins, or about thirty million dollars, and the civil list or 
allowance paid for his use out of the public treasury of 
the State amounts to $315,000 per annum. This is a 
large stipend from a country whose whole population is 
considerably under a million and a half No wonder that 
so many Baden " subjects " prefer to emigrate to the 
United States. 

Troublesome and unpleasant thoughts are always sug- 
gested, even to the doubting mind, by a visit to the old 
estates. In England you see millions of acres held by a 
few individuals, who not only do not live upon their lordly 
domains, but refuse to allow Jthem to be used for the bene- 
fit of their fellow-creatures. He must, indeed, be a dull 



Feudality and Gambling, 241 

observer who cannot anticipate the overthrow of a system 
so vicious, and so utterly repugnant to universal justice. 
In Italy, alike in cot and palace, the cry is for a radical 
change ; and in Germany nothing can save absolutism but 
the fullest concessions to the liberal sentiment. Even in 
France, where the sovereign does so much to gratify the 
populace, there is an alarming uneasiness ; and the sudden 
adjournment of the Legislature by the Emperor (predicted 
in one of my letters from Paris) - was notoriously stimu- 
lated by the violent debates upon his fatal Mexican experi- 
ment. On Friday night there was a gi-and ball in the 
Conversation House at Baden-Baden, organized under the 
auspices of the head of the establishment. Cards were 
issued, but every well-dressed man and woman in Baden- 
Baden att.ended. The music, decorations, and refresh- 
ments were regal in style and profusion. Distinguished 
representatives of all the European nations were present ; 
but the titled lady did not seem to care if her vis-a-vis was 
a renowned leader of the demi-monde, or the last success- 
ful "houri" of the roulette or Trente-et-Quarante. The 
diplomat was jostled by the jockey; the British clergy- 
man by the French priest ;, the Russian nobleman by the 
Polish refugee. The whole edifice blazed with light, and 
revelry ruled supreme; but there was silence in the 
crowded gaming-rooms. The ball was given in a dis- 
tant saloon, and the music was shut out from the main 
apartments, where the work of hazard proceeded with 
noiseless regularity. It was impossible to enter the ball 
without passing by the gamblers, and many came back to 
look, to linger, and to lose, until as I left it was doubtful 
which was most alluring to young and old, to matron and 
maid= 

How different all this from the gay and genteel parties 
at American watering-places ! I looked in vain for the 
beauty, ease, and grace — the elegance and simplicity of 
dress — the innocent enjoyment — ^that characterize the hops 



242 , Colonel Fornefs Letters from Europe, 

of Bedford, Cape May, ISTewport, or Saratoga. The ball 
closed about midnight, but the gamblers plied their trade 
for hoiirs afterwards, according to a regulation that allows 
them to prolong their session whenever they give a recep- 
tion — I presume on the principle of compelling the guests 
'' to call at the captain's office and settle " on their home- 
ward way. 



XLIV.— IN NASSAU. 

THE PRUSSIAN KING IN WIESBADEN^ — MORE LICENSED GAM- 
BLING — IMPROVEMENTS AT HOMBURG — POVERTY OF THE 

LABORERS HOSTILITY TOWARDS PRUSSIAN RULE A 

GLIMPSE OF FRANKFORT — HARSHNESS OF CONSCRIPTION — 
EUROPE CANNOT DISBAND HER ARMIES — HUMAN PROGRESS. 

Wiesbaden, Germany, August 1, 1867. 

This afternoon William the First, King of Prussia, had 
a grand reception in what was a little more than a year 
ago, as it had been for a long time, the capital of the 
Duchy of Nassau, but what is now, like formerly free 
Frankfort, Hamburg, and Hanover, a fixed part of United 
Germany. His Majesty is seventy-one years old, and is a 
fine specimen of a well-preserved gentleman. Notwith- 
standing his white hair and whiskers, he walked with a 
quick military air, and politely responded to the greetings 
of the crowd. He was dressed in the uniform of his own 
guards, wore an ordinary field-cap, and seemed to be very 
much at his ease as he walked through the beautiful grounds 
of the Kursaal or gambling-house of Wiesbaden. For here^ 
as at Baden-Baden, Homburg, and Ems, the supporting in- 
stitution of the place is a licensed " hell," to use a word 



In Nassau, 1243 

which, however irreverent, cannot be called inappropriate. 
It was a strange sight — the lovely walks and gardens filled 
with well-dressed people, gathered to see if not to welcome 
their conqueror, and the band of the Prussian regiment 
quartered here playing in honor of the royal guest, and a 
few steps distant the public gambling-tables surrounded 
with men and women, even more eager than those who 
offered their tributes upon the guilty altars of Baden-Baden 
and Homburg. In the evening there was a brilliant ball in 
the Kursaal, and in the open space before that establish- 
ment such a display of fireworks as you can only see in 
Europe, where the court-artists are specially paid to per- 
fect themselves in the science of decorations. I was told 
by a citizen that all the expenses of the fete were paid by 
the gamblers — a fact that deserves credit when the hos- 
tility of the people to the project of annexation to Prussia, 
and the anxiety of the owners of these great establishments 
to retain the privilege of coining colossal fortunes by so 
sure a process, are considered. It is as natural that the 
people here should not be anxious to pay for costly honors 
to one they still think their oppressor, as that the gamblers 
should be read}?" to propitiate a monarch who is reported to 
be sternly opposed to their practices. Over one hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars were paid to the Grand Duke of 
Nassau for the annual franchise to despoil the visitors at 
Wiesbaden, and this exclusive of voluntary subcriptions to 
the various institutions of the locality. A large and beau- 
tiful theatre, in the very centre of the town, was built out 
of their means for the public use. 

It will not be so easy a matter for the old King to break 
up a system which has worked itself into a usage, and has 
succeeded in polluting the whole body of society ; captivat- 
ing the rich by its numerous inventions for their enjoyment, 
and seducing the poor by paying their taxes. King Wil- 
liam's son-in-law, the Grand Duke of Baden, would soon 
lose not only a heavy item of his revenue, but the valuable 



244 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

resort at Baden-Baden itself, so prolific of wealth in other 
ways to his coffers and his people, if the gentlemen of the 
roulette, the dice-box, and the card-tabe are expelled from 
their gorgeous temples. 

There is something almost beyond belief in the munifi- 
cence of these men. They have converted Homburg, about 
thirty minutes by rail from Frankfort, into an earthly Para 
disc. The Kursaal there is a brown-stone structure, built 
in the last and best style, which unites a perfect theatre and 
hotel, with a table d^hote set out every da}^, great ball-rooms, 
and galleries for walking in wet weather, porticoes, and a 
temple for the orchestra, and these without counting the 
three brilliant saloons in which the gamblers sit every day 
and night, including Sunday, plying their trade. The 
grounds are a marvel of garden and landscape, fountain 
and bower, shady walk and lovely drive. There are scarcely 
less than eight thousand persons present every season ; and 
as these are mostly rich Europeans, English, Russian, 
Italian, and French nobility, they feed the gamblers and 
the hotels with all the lavish generosity common to people 
who spend money they never earned. 

At Wiesbaden, where I am now writing, the attractions 
are even greater than at Homburg ; for here there is quite 
a city apart from the Kursaal, with other objects of interest 
to the student and traveller. When you are told that thirty- 
five thousand persons visit Wiesbaden every year, you will 
see that many others besides the parties in the gaming- 
houses will protest against anj^- change in what has become 
an agreeable, if destructive chronic habit. That which pains 
the American observer is the dismal contrast between the 
laboring and what ma^^ be styled the luxurious classes. 
All around these resorts of the nobility, droves of women 
are seen at work in the fields — young women, with old 
faces and hard hands, and old women, bent almost double 
with toil aud burden-bearing. At Homburg I saw many 
of these poor creatures, and some of them looked as rough, 



In Nassau. 245 

and were, I fear, as rude, as the peasant men themselves. 
The difference between them and their gay European sisters 
at the gaming-tables was very great indeed ; but it was con- 
soling to think how both differed from the women of the 
two extremes of American society. An American lady at 
a gambling-table would be a sight as revolting as an 
American woman doing the field-work for the men — wheel- 
ing manure, unloading cars, following the plough, and 
carrying loads upon the head and shoulders. 

This visit of King William to Wiesbaden is his first; 
and m^any doubts were entertained how he would be re- 
ceived by the people, since the fortunes of last year's war 
made him their ruler, added their fine territory to his 
dominions, and deposed the Duke of Nassau, who con- 
tinues to be greatly beloved, and whose splendid chateau 
was sold as soon as he heard of the result of the war, and 
all of whose other costly possessions were confiscated by 
advice of the resolute Bismarck. He is now waiting events 
m Paris or Brussels,, Although the Prussian King's welcome 
was neither loud nor boisterous, it was quite respectful. 
A more significant feeling prevailed at Prankfort, the most 
valuable, yet what threatens to become the most trouble- 
some, of his acquisitions. I spent part of Sunday and 
Monday in that flourishing city, and found an almost ex- 
plosive hostility to the Prussians. Frankfort has enjoyed 
a long career of nearly uninterrupted liberty, even in the 
time of the early Emperors of Germany, whose coronation, 
from the early part of the fifteenth century, took place 
within its Dom or Cathedral ; and, from the time it was 
recognized as a free city by the Congress of Vienna, has 
wielded a large influence in creating the democratic senti- 
ment of German}'. 

The new monument to the great printer Gutenberg was 
peculiarly interesting, in view of the prevalent feeling that 
mourned the downfall of the sacred franchises of the city. 
The central figure is Gutenberg himself, with the original 



246 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

types in his left hand. He is supported by Faust and 
Schseffer. On the frieze are the likenesses of thirteen cele- 
brated printers, and in the niches underneath are the four 
towns of Mayence, Frankfort, Venice, and Strasburg, in 
which the great art was first practised. On four separate 
pedestals are emblematic figures of Theology, Poetry, IS'at- 
ural History, and Industry, and below these are the heads 
of four animals, which serve as water-spouts for the foun- 
tains,' representing the four quarters of the globe and the 
universal diffusion of knowledge. As the rule of the new 
Power is enforced with as much sternness against free dis- 
cussion and a free press as that of its great rival, France, 
this splendid group might be taken either as a satire or a 
rebuke. Hardly less suggestive is the bronze statue of 
Goethe, whose varied genius and inspired strains have 
always been among the memorials of outspoken Germany, 
and who was born in a house in the street called Grosser, 
Hirschgraben, which is carefully kept in repair by the city. 
Frankfort is a beautiful city, and beautifully situated. 
Its broad streets, however, have yet to be improved by the 
modern composition so delightful to man and horse in 
Paris and some of the towns of Switzerland. They have a 
rough stone pavement, even to the walls of the houses, 
with very slight curbing. The Frankfort people contend 
that all enterprise has been arrested if not crushed by the 
Prussians, and that many projected improvements have 
been abandoned in consequence of the loss of their ancient 
liberties. I visited the lovely gardens and heard the mag- 
nificent music of the band of the 14th Prussian Fusileers, 
but it was easy to see that the masses heard the sweet har- 
monies with unresponsive ears. It is a little more than a. 
year ago since they fell under the sway of King William 
and when the anniversary came, all the ladies of Frankfort 
appeared in mourning in sad remembrance of the gloomy 
event. The young men of a certain age have all been 
mustered into the Prussian army, and three of the best 



In Nassau, i^'j 

years of their lives must be given to the service of a ruler 
they hate with undissembled scorn. Of course, the story 
of our great war, and the end of the rebellion and the dis- 
solution of our mighty military organization, together with 
the rapid reduction of our colossal debt, is pondered with 
a keener zest as they brood over their own fate — the in- 
crease of King William's army, the suppression of free 
speech and a free press, and the corresj)onding discourage- 
ment of individual emulation and organized enterprise. 

While it is but just to add that the feeling in Frankfort 
is stronger than in any of the other new acquisitions of 
the King, it is not denied that there is much discontent in 
other parts of Germany, and that the wisest men are full 
of apprehensions. But the delicacy of the German ques- 
tion is of itself a guarantee against Prussia taking the 
hostile initiative, and is, so far, a source of strength to 
Louis Napoleon, whose permanency can only be disturbed 
by a successful assault from without or a sudden explosion 
from within ; and if the first is made difficult by the 
difficulties of his rivals, he will have more time to prevent 
the second. One thing is clear ; Europe cannot afford to 
follow the glorious example of the United States and dis- 
band her armies. The course of the Prussian King in 
forcing his discontented population into the military ser- 
vice is that alternative of self-preservation which must be 
adopted, by all the crowned heads, upon one pretext or 
another ; and thus it stands — that from Italy on the one 
extreme to Ireland on the other, from Bavaria, which fears 
the Prussian boa-constrictor will hunger for new victims 
the moment he has absorbed his recent conquests, to Great 
Britain, which organizes her volunteers as a new element 
of protection against inside radicals and revolutions, the 
condition of Europe is that of an armed and watchful and 
most expensive peace. The gloomy people must be fed 
and flattered to keep them quiet, or they must be led 
against each other to promote the ambition of their Jealous 

16 



248 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

rulers. There is not a court in Europe, therefore, that 
does not vibrate between expensive outlays to promote the 
lasting safety of the sovereign by military protections, and 
expensive outlays to promote the temporary enjoyment of 
the people in such demonstrations as the Universal Expo- 
sition and the reception of the European sovereigns in Paris, 
royal journeys like that of King William, welcomes to the 
Sultan like that in London, and even the vicious and fascin- 
ating orgies of the Kursaals themselves. But could any 
thing prove more clearly the rottenness of the whole 
system ? 

Whenever I hear of an American in Europe who studies 
these indications, and yet does not take comfort from the 
exact and overwhelming opposite presented in his own 
country (and there are such to be found), I can make al- 
lowance for the foreigner who flatters himself that if the 
situation of Europe is gloomy, that of the United States is 
worse. The fact is, nothing alarms the enemies of freedom 
in Europe half so much as our last six years experience in 
America ; and I have never yet found an exception to the 
rule that this example or experience is cherished as a dear 
and undying hope by every civilized people on earth. Had 
our experiment failed in the victory of the rebellion, Human 
Progress would have been stayed for ages. Our success 
has given a resistless impetus to every righteous and re- 
forming agency. Kings ma}" save themselves by elevating 
their people, but he is a shallow observer of the course of 
events who cannot see that the war in America has famil- 
iarized all the world with liberty, and that the next genuine 
movement of the human race Avill not be a spasmodic rev- 
olution, but a sweeping and a thorough change. It may 
take a long time to consummate the inevitable consequence 
of our own great triumph, but as surely as that sovereigns 
must assist in enlightening their fellow-creatures or be 
ground into dust between opposing systems, so surely will 
self-government prevail in the old as it does in the new 
hemisphere. 



Cologne, 249 



XLV.— COLOGNE. 

WAR PREPARATIONS — THE SEVEN WEEKS WAR OP 1866— 
THE RHINE WELL GUARDED — PRUSSIA AND PRANCE. 

Cologne, August 4, 18G7. 

There is no better point from which to consider the prob- 
abilities of a great European war than from this ancient 
Prussian Catholic city and citadel. Standing, as it were, 
on the frontier, the traveller from France to Belgium can 
easily see the massive military preparations which bristle 
from both sides of the Rhine, showing that when the con- 
flict comes, King William will be as fully equipped as when 
he doubled up and broke the back of Austria, last year. 
Prior to that great and sudden avalanche, by which, in 
seven weeks, the Prussians startled the civilized world, by 
crowding Austria down among the third powers of Europe, 
abolishing a number of aspiring German principalities, ab- 
sorbing Frankfort after the latter had existed as a free 
State for more than a thousand years, the daring man who 
projected that brief and brilliant campaign stripped the 
borders of the Rhine of their armaments, translating these 
vast engines to the fields upon which the neW policy was 
developed in such quick and unexpected succession. Cal- 
culating, with a shrewd knowledge of events, that France 
would scarcely be a party to the controversy, and availing 
himself of all the facilities of modern communication and 
travel, and those great inventions in gunnery developed by 
the extraordinary progress of the American war, Bismarck 
struck the Austrians such rapid and annihilating blows that 
before they could recover from the first surprise they had to 
beg for quarter, and finally to accept the most humiliating 
terms. But now all is changed. It is the Rhine which is 



250 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

now "being guarded. It is the Rhine which bristles with 
cannon on both its banks ; and these stupendous precau 
tions are taken not only to repress the slightest discontent 
among the threatening population of the conquered or ab- 
sorbed principalities, but to admonish the Frenchman that 
notwithstanding the recent treaty of peace, his designs are 
as easily read as if his open heart had been exposed to the 
view of the minister who watches and wields the destiny 
of Germany. The recent interview between Napoleon and 
Francis Joseph, at Salsburg, however called, means nothing 
less than a new combination, and the hollowness even of 
royal hospitalities could never be better shown than by the 
fact that this alliance is to be sealed even while the memories 
of Solferino and Magenta, and other great Austrian defeats, 
accomplished by the French armies, is still a fresh and un- 
healed wound. But if these preparations were not rendered 
necessary by both the great continental rivals — France and 
Prussia — for the purpose of maintaining their territorial 
supremacy, they would be forced by the condition of the 
peoples of these respective countries. That there is a 
certain degree of animosity existing between them cannot 
be denied, and that the gratification of this animosity 
would, under ordinary circumstances, hasten hostilities. 
But there are other considerations lying beneath and near 
the surface of public affairs. These are the strong aspira- 
tions for republican governments that animate and control 
millions who have heretofore sullenly obeyed their royal 
masters and reluctantly fought their battles. If these two 
emperors — William of Germany and Napoleon of France — 
do not, therefore, decide the question of superiority for their 
own sakes, their peoples will do so for them. Certainly the . 
people of Prussia cannot be restrained from a popular up- 
rising, unless they are diverted by an appeal to their nation- 
ality in favor of united Germany. This alone will extin- 
guish their dissensions and postpone the fulfilment of their 
desires. 



upon the Rhine, 251 



XL VI.— UPON THE EHINE. 

DISADVANTAGE OF EXCESSIVE PRAISE — AMERICAN RIVERS — • 
THE EVERLASTING ELORIN — REAL BEAUTIES OF THE RHINE 

THE FEELING TOWARDS PRUSSIA — EHRENBREITSTEIN 

FRANKFORT— PRUSSIAN CONSCRIPTION — PROGRESS. 

On the EniNE, August 5, 18G7. 

The Ehine, like a great many other things earthly, and 
especially like a great many things European, suffers from 
being over-praised. The reality falls so very far short of 
the extravagant anticipation, that you are a little annoj^ed 
at the deception. Take away the history (the best part of 
it traditional), and the splendid efforts of Art, aided by 
the munificence of princes and capitalists, to adorn every 
village, valley, peak, hamlet, island, railroad station and 
tunnel, and I can name twenty American streams, all of 
them surpassing it in length and breadth, and every one of 
them equalling it in natural beauty The Juniata, with a 
dozen such pictures as that which fascinates the traveller 
as he approaches Lewistown on the Pennsylvania Rail- 
road — the Susquehanna, w^ith its superb Wyoming scenery 
— the Delaware, with its Water Gap — the Hudson, with 
its endless panorama of loveliness — Lake George and its 
^islands — not to speak of the rivers of the South from the 
Potomac to the Pedee, and from Chesapeake Bay to the 
Gulf of Mexico — are finer studies for the painter and more 
perfect combinations of unassisted nature. Very interest- 
ing and even beautiful is the Rhine, and so it ought to be, 
for never was any river at once so bedizened and eulo- 
gized. Indeed, if genius can ever spoil any thing it touches, 
it has spoiled the Rhine. You can look nowhere without 
seeing some evidences of the architect or the gardener. 



252 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe^ 

The water-front of every village seems to be like the fresh 
scene in a new play. Every farm-house is placed at the 
exact point to harmonize with the general outline. Several 
grand old ruins, like Rolandseck and Thurnberg, are al- 
lowed to stand, but nearly all the other ancient castles 
have been put in repair for temporar^^- residence and per- 
manent exhibition — some of them occupied by the most 
prosaic of spectators, and others held by kings or nobles, 
as if to show how millions of money can be spent that 
might be devoted to far better purposes. The railroad 
tunnels on the route have gates like cathedrals, and even 
the telegraph-poles are arranged in a particular pose. The 
moment 3^ou land you are pestered to buy pictures of this 
overlauded country ; and you are not fairly in your hotel 
before you find your table covered with the legends, 
the photographs, the stereoscopes, the albums of the 
Rhine. 

Nowhere is the profession of taking sun-copies of land 
and water, man and beast, palace and castle, so prosecuted 
as on the Continent. Its improvements are numerous 
and wonderful. Art employs it as one of its subtlest and 
most fruitful agents ; and a people who are absorbed in 
their devotion to the old masters, and in their efforts to 
excel in all the aesthetic mysteries, find photography at 
once their cheapest and most servile instrument. Yet the 
medal of " the Universal Exposition " was, I believe, 
awarded to the American photographers. 

Ever34iody lives or seems to ''live off" the Rhine — in, 
other words, the romance to others is an incessant specula- 
tion extending to the natives, from the prince of the new 
chateau on the hill to the peasant-trailer of grapes ; from - 
the photographer to the printer ; from the hostler who holds 
or watches your horses to the ultra-polite hotel-keeper who 
welcomes the incoming and sighs farewell to the outgoing 
guest ; from the owner of the donkeys to the owner of the 
diligences ; from the seller of sour cherries and dxy apri- 



upon the Rhine, q.c^i^ 

cots on the wharf to the vendor of relics in the little shops 
that make up the bulk of the population of all the towns 
on the route ; from the priests who furnish their churches 
and finish their cathedrals with the contributions of the 
endless procession of travellers that courses up and down 
on the bad steamers and excellent cars that float upon and 
fringe this best-advertised river of rivers, to the genuine 
creator and shameless imitators of the inevitable " Cologne 
water," there never was just so curious and so constant a 
speculation. And then the cost of all these things I Ordi- 
narily, competition cheapens as it improves trade ; but 
here, where all are fierce to sell, all are evidently combined 
to sell at the highest price. The guide-books tell us that 
every thing is cheaper along the Khine than elsewhere ; 
but the hope is a mirage, and we have yet to reach the 
fulfilled promise. That which the shilling of England and 
the franc of France procures, here commands the florin, a 
coin nearly double in value. 

With all these drawbacks, however, the Rhine is an 
object of uncommon interest ; and, if one may judge from 
the crowded steamers, cars, and hotels, it is destined to 
remain so at least as long as so many interests unite to 
present it in such attractive colors. The towns along its 
shores are full of objects of curiosity to the stranger ; and 
whether he stops, as at Wiesbaden, to see the operations 
of the gaming tables, or at Bieberich, to roam over the 
deserted and forfeited grounds and palace of the late Duke 
of Nassau ; or at Johannisberg, to drink the famous wine 
of that name, only to be had in its delicate purity in the 
district where it is grown ; or at Rudesheim, to ascend its 
glorious hills and imbibe its historic grape-juice; or at 
lovely Bingen, so worthy of the world-remembered poem ; 
or at St. Goar, to roam through the ruins of Rheinfels, 
more than six hundred years old, with the entrancing 
beauty of the legendary rocks, ''the Seven Sisters," and 
the surrounding villages ; or at Stolzenfels, to see the 



■2 54 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

gorgeous residence of King William, with its portcullis, 
draw-bridge, moat, and castellan, and all the regal state 
and forms of mingled absolutism and feudalism ; or at Cob- 
lentz, to examine the old and new fortresses that stand like 
grim warders of the adjacent frontier, and seem to say to 
France, as the gladiator says to his foes, " Come on ! I am 
ready !" or at Cologne, where the Catholic faith boasts 
some of its grandest and most ancient monuments, and 
where even the Protestant stands awe-stricken before these 
formidable relics of the past, some of which, like the mas- 
sive cathedral, are so old that the name of the original 
designer has faded out of human memory — at each and all 
the stranger will find something to instruct, to elevate, and 
to surprise. 

At Coblentz I staj^ed one evening and part of a day to 
get a reasonable Idea of the extreme Prussian sentiment, 
and of the vast preparations of the government, which last 
year, in the shortest campaign in military annals, degraded 
Austria into a third-rate power, and while taking large and 
reluctant provinces under its stern protection quickly ad- 
vanced itself 'to the front rank of nations, and so re-adjusted 
tbe map of Europe as to become the arbiter of its future, 
and more than the equal of its self-appointed dictator, Na- 
poleon. It was not hard to understand that if the feeling 
in Frankfort was strong against King William, that from 
Coblentz to Cologne is stronger in his favor ; and that the 
moment France throws down the gauntlet, an '' United 
Germany " will greedily take it up and as quickly sink all 
its internal quarrels. The fortifications around Coblentz 
are tremendous, making our own vast efi'orts during the 
rebellion, near Washington and Richmond, look trifling in 
comparison. The castle of Ehrenbreitstein, (''Honor's 
broad stone,") seated on an almost inaccessible mountain, 
and overlooking the town and valley, is the chief of these 
ramparts, is more than eight hundred years old, and 
was a Roman military post fourteen centuries ago. It is 



upon the Rhine, i^S 

in perfect repair, and I found it filled with troops and 
armed to the outer wall. It has cost the Prussian govern- 
ment over five millions of dollars, and can accommodate 
one hundred thousand men. It stands four hundred feet 
above the level of the Rhine, ancl is defended by four hun- 
dred cannon. On the topmost battlement the guide 
j)ointed out several other immense fortifications, in the 
same range, of recent construction, and everywhere I 
noticed troops drilling and heard the sound of drums and 
trumpets. Not only were the soldiers being trained in 
squads, but by the single man ; and there was as much ac- 
tivity as if the hostile tri-color had already appeared on 
the not-distant French /rontier. Cologne, the chief city 
of the Rhine, has five heavy fortifications, now occupied by 
over forty thousand of the finest veterans in the Prussian 
army. 

Never before has the military organization of Prussia 
been so perfect. Every young man of eighteen is immedi- 
ately put into the armj^,' where he serves for three of the 
best years of his life. This, out of a population of twenty 
millions, keeps on a constant war- footing one of the largest 
armies in the world ; although it takes from the fields and 
the workshops an immense number of valuable men, and 
compels the degradation of women to the hardest toil. 
There is no distinction in this conscription — it reaches 
peer and peasant ; and the troops I saw, many of them 
very young fellows, were veterans already, having fought 
in the last year's war with great distinction, and showing 
their medals and badges with enthusiastic pride. The in- 
spiration that strengthens the King, and fills the army 
with contented soldiers, is, tha.t Germany must be united 
into one nation, like England, France, and the United 
States, The same sentiment will force the speedy consoli- 
dation of Italy. The frightful atrocities of the brigands, 
even up to the gates of Rome, and the stubborn refusal of 
the Pope to yield to the passionate cry of the Catholics 



256 Colonel Forney 5 Letters from Europe, 

of Italy, added to financial complications without end, will 
hasten this last event ; and I look for it so confidently that 
I will not be astonished if it is precipitated before long. 
The Liberals of Grermany, like those of Italy, are not satis- 
fied with the rule of their king ; but they accept William 
as their leader in the one case, and Yictor Emmanuel in 
the other, because these men represent the brotherhood 
and consolidation of two great empires. When " United 
Germany " and "United Italy " are consummated, spirits 
like Deak and Garibaldi will begin to operate for the grand 
and lasting reforms without which there can hereafter be 
no really just or permanent government in any part of the 
earth. 

Here, again, I find another source for congratulation as 
an American citizen. I saw with a clearer vision and a 
prouder heart my own country without a sla^ve, and almost 
without an enem}^, after a war which shook the universe in 
its resistless march, and settled the grandest question of 
the age — a country where there are no such poor as I see 
every day in this Old World, and where woman, not, as here, 
a beast of burden, haggard and old before her time, is the 
equal and the pride of man — a country whose sons, not, as 
in Europe, the tools and footstools of kings, are offered all 
the prizes that can awaken and stimulate ambition, and 
are sovereign in the right to criticise and change their pub- 
lic servants. Nor was this picture present to me alone. 
Everywhere I can see it hanging like a precious hope in the 
mind of man. And as these monarchs plot, and arm, and 
subjugate, and kill, their people turn to the United States 
of America as a refuge from hardships unendurable and a 
reward for honest toil. 



Belgium, q.q^-j 



XLVII.— BELGIUM. 

CONFUSION OP EUROPEAN COIN — BELGIC LEGISLATURE — BRUS- 
SELS — MAXIMILIAN AND CARLOTTA. 

Brussels, August 6, 1867. 

Standing among a group of American travellers, yester- 
day, while our baggage was being cavalierly overhauled by 
the Belgian officials, to find if any of our purchases in 
Germany were subject to duty under the laws of the last 
government, of which that place is the frontier, I could not 
help reminding some of those who were loudly deploring the 
frequency of these shameless searches that precisely such a 
system, only infinitely worse, because sectional hate would 
have been intensified by sectional triumph, would have been 
established in our country had the pro-slavery rebellion 
prevailed. Woe to the Northern man who should then seek 
to pass the perilous barriers between the North and South, 
broken as the one would have been into fragments, and 
solid as the other must have been through the ever-present 
instinct that fears a sudden surprise. He would have been 
examined not only for his purchases, but for his principles ; 
and his passport would have had to be a fall certificate of 
his commercial as well as of his political orthodoxy. But 
the lesson had another significance ; for, just before we fell 
into the hands of these border ruffians, we had endured all 
the vexations and swindling resulting from the mixed cur- 
rency of Switzerland and Germany. Some of our company 
had come in from Italy, others from France, and others 
again from England, and we had almost as much of a Babel 
in coin as we had a Babel in dialect ; and so, between try- 
ing to disentangle the relative values of Italian florins, 
French francs, English shillings, Dutch guilders, Prussian 
thalers, and their sub-divisions into groscliens, kreutzers, 



258 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

pence, and centimes, we had a keen realization of the 
supreme virtue of the much-abused American greenhack, 
which circulates over a territory 1-arger than that conquered 
by the Csesars, and is convertible equally in the defiles of the 
Rocky Mountains and the hills of New Hampshire. And 
mark, also, that these annoyances are upheld by govern- 
ments which are constantly quoted by certain politicians at 
home as so many evidences of the blessings of free trade. 
Their free trade means taxation of all others for their own 
benefit, and the right to enter their pauper-made fabrics un- 
taxed into the dominions of their greatest customer. 
Never before have the injustice and suffering of European 
governments been so galling to Americans as at present, 
when these are contrasted with the priceless advantages of 
their own country, rescued not only from all such evils, but 
from the curse of human slavery besides. " Anybody that 
wants to be cured of free trade and be committed forever 
against the Copperheads, who advocate it and resist the 
reconstruction polic}^ of Congress, has only to visit Europe, 
to contrast the workingmen here with our workingmen at 
home; to be overhauled by custom-house officers every 
hundred miles he travels ; to be afflicted b}^ the disputes and 
frauds resulting from an unconvertible and mixed currency, 
and to hear the British aristocracy denounce the Kepublican 
leaders of America." This is the language of a sensible 
young fellow who came over to spend the summer on the 
Continent ; and I am much mistaken if he did not speak 
the honest sentiments of thousands of his countrymen. 

Brussels is a great relief to those who have been passing 
through the narrow streets and dirty thoroughfares of the 
German towns, and you approach it from Cologne over an 
unrivalled agricultural region. The farmers were just 
gathering in their plenteous harvests, and the fields were 
fairly jocund with men, women, and children As we came 
in, the noble parks, with their royal elms, making gigantic 
avenues and alleys of shade ; the sounds of music from the 
concerts in the gardens, the monuments in the squares, the 



Belgium, 259 

high, bright houses, and the broad and busy walks of trade, 
gave the city quite a Parisian look, and justified the strong 
compliments of the various guide-books. The Belgic Gov- 
ernment is almost as liberal as that of Switzerland, and the 
people seem to be quite as happy as the Swiss. The Legisla- 
ture is elected by the people, the House for four years, and 
the Senate for eight ; every two years half of the House 
may be re-elected, and every four years half the Senate. 
Every citizen is eligible to the House, but a Senator must 
be forty years of age, and pay a " contribution " or tax on 
real estate of about four hundred dollars. The halls of 
legislation are magnificent copies of the two halls of legis- 
lation in Paris, and there are galleries for the people, for 
the press, for the diplomats, and for the Crown. The mottoes 
in the vestibule of the Capitol are /' Free Speech," " Free 
Press," "Free Religion," and "Free Association;" and the 
apparent happiness of the people seemed to show that they 
were not idle promises. 

To-day there was a grand religious ceremony in token of 
the grief of the Court over the sad fate of Maximilian. 
The King and Queen, and all the notables, including, of 
course, the clergy and the military, participated, and a 
great crowd looked on. The American minister was not 
among the legations, because the tribute was to the memory 
of the " Emperor " Maximilian, a personage unknown to our 
Government ; and Mr. Sanford acted properly in declining 
to attend. The saddest incident of the afiair is the fact 
that the so-called " Empress " Carlotta, the sister of the 
present King of the Belgians, is now a confirmed lunatic 
in consequence of the excitement produced by her husband's 
ill-fated expedition. She resides at Miramar, near Trieste, 
her husband's former chateau ; and up to this time does not 
realize the fact of his tragic death. The grief of his rela- 
tives and connexions is of course very natural, although his 
fate is only another of the thousand lessons that figure in 
history of the danger of violating the homely maxim — 
*' Mind your own business." 



26o Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 



XL VIII.— EUROPEAN WAGES. 

GERMAN NAMES IN PENNSYLVANIA — RECOLLECTINa A LAN- 
GUAGE — THE SEASONS IN GERMANY — TEMPERANCE OF THE 

PEOPLE LOOKING TO A FUTURE IN AMERICA — WEALTH AND 

INDUSTRY OF BELGIUM — WAGES AND PRICES — POVERTY AND 
FREE TRADE. 

Brussels, August 8> 1867. 

The habits, occupations, and wages of the German 
working-classes of the Continent have greatly interested 
me ; and not simply because of their bearing upon great 
unsolved problems, which, like undying seeds, grow as they 
slumber in the future of Europe. I do not forget that 
many States of the American Union contain the descend- 
ants and relatives of these people, including Pennsylvania, 
whose best first settlers were Swedes, French, Huguenots, 
Swiss, and other emigrants from Protestant provinces, 
and whose family names I find in the current newspapers, 
signs, literature, and language. The eastern and middle 
counties of my native State are to this day partially under 
the influence of the customs and even the idioms so preva- 
lent and controlling here. I saw the names of my own 
French and German ancestors more than once ; and it was 
pleasant to hear Keller, Le Fevre, Tschudi, Hitz, Stouck, 
Leib, Lehmann, Laumann, Kugier, Smyser, Herzog, Ring- 
wald, Benner, Roeder, Zimmerman (or Carpenter), Cassel, 
Bruner, Bigler, Bachman, Houpt, Hershey, Huetter, Landis, 
Schindel, Froglig, Scherr, Kverhart, Brenneman, Shriner, 
Kaufman, Kurtz, Kuntz, Bauermaster, Kinzer, Luther, 
Wagner, Herr, Hostetter, Koenig, Kendig, Bauman, 



European IV ages, 261 

among the household nomenclature of these far-off coun- 
tries, as if to prove another of the many ties that bind 
together the communities of the two hemispheres ; and 
although there is a great difference in the dialects of the 
many divisions of the Germanic principalities, Prussian, 
Austrian, Swedish, Hessian, Swiss, Norwegian and Flemish, 
yet is there a common chord running through the whole 
web and woof (like the grand march that runs through 
the opera of " Norma ") that reminded me of the German 
patois still spoken in Montgomery, Berks, Lancaster, York, 
Dauphin, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Northampton, Bucks, 
Cumberland, Centre, Union, Snyder, Northumberland, 
parts of Chester, Schuylkill, Cambria, and other counties 
of Pennsylvania. And the children of the pioneers that 
planted free institutions in our great old State, scattered 
into Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, and the other pro- 
gressive empires of the West, would be happy to realize 
the sensations aroused by such associations. 

Even the little and almost forgotten German I gathered 
from my mother when I was a child, came back to me like 
a long-absent and most welcome friend, and though spoken 
rudely, yet the few words I recovered frequently opened 
the hearts of these simple people like a talisman, and 
proved in some cases more valuable than the unintelligible 
coins with which we paid our way, showing how often a 
lingual currency in a land of strangers helps one through. 
They had all heard of America through their friends and 
relatives, and high and low spoke of it as a precious hope 
for themselves, and the fatherland of their children's 
children. And as I heard them talk about their sons and 
daughters in Pennsylvania and other American States, and 
cheerfully answered their many questions about the 
price of land, the price of labor, the price of meat, the 
schools, the population of our great cities, the amount of 
the passage-money for emigrants to New York and Phil- 
adelphia, and how far it was to the West and the South, 



262 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

and how much it would cost to get there, and saw their 
looks of wonder and 303^, mingled with gratitude that their 
beloved ones lived in such a land, and that they in turn 
might possibly be able to follow them on some happier day, 
I thought of Ireland and her millions in the old home, 
watching and praying for, and hoping also to follow, their 
other millions in the new home. It was a cheering and a 
tempting thought : but I need scarcely elaborate it. 

The summer months are months of harvest in all re- 
spects in Switzerland, and in many of the other German 
States. Winter is a hard one upon most of the people of 
the high latitudes, and Switzerland is covered with a man- 
tle of snow. Debarred from the fields, and shut out from 
trade, the Swiss toil incessautlj^, and at starving wages, 
during the winter, making the toys and wood-work that 
constitute the great staple of their summer commerce. In 
Norway and Sweden the forage for the cattle, laid up in 
summer, is often exhausted before the cold weather is 
ended, and the fish laid up for the poor is often spoiled by 
the rains before the winter sets in, and as it is almost their 
only food, the use of it produces fearful diseases. Yet it 
is a happ3^, if not a contented race, and in some respects 
an exemplary one. I have never imagined that a people 
so miserably paid for their labor, so poorly housed, and 
so often angered by the irritating contrast suggested by 
the wealth and vices of their rulei's, could be so sober, 
decorous, and orderly. I have noticed the Germans in 
their great fairs, where thousands were assembled, and in 
their gardens and public assemblies, and I have not met 
with a dozen drunken men. A distinguished temperance 
advocate frankly insists that it is because they reject 
spirits and drink the delicate wines of the country, and 
adds that when we of the United States have achieved the 
successful culture of the grape, the curse of strong drink, 
which has slain more noble intellects than red-haudecl war 
itself, will be lifted from our otherwise happy country — 



European Wages. 26 ^ 

which God send soon ! They are very devout, and follow 
their religious teachers, especially if they are priests, with 
undoubting and unquestioning faith. But that which im- 
presses and oppresses the philosophic and philanthropic 
observer, is the absence of ambition in all their faces. 
They seem to feel that theirs is a hand-to-mouth struggle ; 
and that life has no opening to their offspring but that 
which is offered in their own laborious routine. And hence, 
though they have all the advantages of living among the 
splendid monuments of the past, and of hearing the best 
music of the finest masters in their festivals, you can see 
that their comfort is almost without an aspiration, and that 
when they are happy, it is simply the result of submission 
to a destiny that promises no probable change to them and 
theirs. If America were not before them as a steady 
promise of a way to a better fortune, their lot would be 
pitiable indeed. 

The wealthiest of these regions is the Germanic and 
Latin country of Belgium, whose brilliant capital I am 
now visiting. It is famous for its coal, its flax, its wheat, 
and its manufactures of iron and cloth ; and its lace, car- 
pets, cutlery, and cotton gcods, are known over the world. 
And it would seem that the people are satisfied with the 
government of Leopold II. They have, as I have said, 
free schools, a free press, free speech, and a free religion. 
But here, as elsewhere, the free-trade policy grinds human 
labor under its oppressive despotism and crushes out the 
spirits of men. The following table, arranged after care- 
ful inquiry and personal examination, is presented for 
the reflection of the American workingman and the Ameri- 
can politician. It is a list of the salaries and wages paid 
in the various avocations and industries in Belgium, clos- 
ing with the prices of butter, flour, beef, and bread. The 
prices are given in francs and centimes : — five francs are 
nearly equal in value to one American dollar, and five cen- 
times to one cent : 

17 , ■ 



264 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

Francs per day. 

Stone-masons 1.00 to 2.00 

Forgemen 3.00 to 7.00 

Bakers 1.00 to 2.00 

Shoemakers ' 2.00 to 3.00 

Tailors 2.00 to 3.00 

Tailors (cutters) 4.00 to 5.00 

Coach-makers 2.00 to 3.00 

Servants (men) 1.00 to 2.00 

Servants (women) , 1.00 to 1.50 

Butchers 2.00 to 3.00 

Glove-makers 3.00 to 400 

Hatters 2.00 to 3.00 

Cabinet-makers 2.00 to 4.00 

Glaziers 1.00 to 2.00 

House-carpenters = 2.00 to 3.00 

Farm servants (men) 1.00 

Locksmiths 2. 00 to 3.00 

Stovemakers 1.00 to 2.50 

Book-binders 2.00 to 3.00 

Women lace-makers 1.00 to 2.50 

Pressmen 2.00 to 3.50 

Compositors 4.00 to 6.00 

Clerks 2.00 to 5.00 

Women shirt-makers 1.00 to 2.50 

Watch-makers 2.00 to 4.00 

Jewelers 4. 00 to 5.00 

Workers in brass 3.00 to 4.00 

Harness-makers 2.00 to 3.00 

House-painters..., 2.00 to 3.50 

Roof-makers .^. . . 2.00 to 3.00 

Upholsterers ' . . . 2.d0 to 2.50 

Pastry cooks 1.00 to 2.00 

Workers in porcelain 2.00 to 3.00 

Lamp-makers 2.00 to 3.00 

Plasterers 1.00 to 2.50 

Laborers 1.00 to 2.00 

Paviors 1.00 to 2.00 

Coopers 1.50 to 2.50 

Glass-makers 4.00 to 6.00 



European Wages, 26^ 

Francs per day. 

Gardeners 2.00 to 2.50 

Dressmakers 1.00 to 2.00 

Cigar-makers 1.50 to 2.50 

Cutters 2.00 to 3.00 

Beef per pound 0. 90 

Butter per pound 1.50 

Potatoes (sack), 200 pounds 12.00 

Bread per pound. 0.20 

Francs per year. 

CMef conductor 1,800 

Asst. conductor.., 1,600 

Stoker (or fireman) 1,20Q 

Engineer ; 2,000 

These are the rates of wages and prices of provisions in 
Belgium, the best of the Continental countries, and you 
need hardly be told that they are not higher in the other 
kingdoms, where labor has fewer advantages, and the 
demand for employment is greater, owing to climate, 
soil, &c. It is unnecessary to add that human beings thus 
compensated cannot enjoy luxuries like butter or beef; 
cannot dress save in the poorest clothing, and cannot 
travel on steamboats and railroads Nor need I expatiate 
upon the hopelessness of accumulating for the future. The 
contrast between these data and the wages of labor in the 
United States will be made by the intelligent American 
mechanic for his own edification. At a time when the 
whole body of the workingmen of our country are com- 
plaining that their wages are inadequate, we have a new 
movement in favor of free trade originating with the very 
politicians who profess, as in Connecticut and in Schuyl- 
kill county, to sympathize "with the strikes," and who 
actually, out of this profession, secure votes from the work- 
ing class themselves ! It is only necessay to show how 
European free trade is maintained to foreshadow the con- 
dition of the mechanics and artisans of the United States 
if these politicians can succeed. 



0.66 Colonel Forney's Letters from Europe, 



XLIX.— ANTWEEP. 

FORMER GREATNESS OF ANTWERP — TRADE WITH NEW YORK 
— RUBENS — THE DESCENT FROM THE CROSS — HONOR TO THE 
ILLUSTRIOUS DEPARTED — MONUMENTS IN ENGLAND, FRANCE, 
AND GERMANY — QUENTIN MATSYS — AMERICAN FUTURE IN 
ART. 

Antwerp, August 10, 1867. 

In the reign of Charles the Fifth Antwerp had twenty- 
five hnndred vessels at one time moored in its harbor, 
laden with the products of all quarters of the globe, had in 
circulation annually more than five millions of guilders 
(more than two millions of dollars), and assembled five 
thousand merchants twice everj^ daj^ in the great hall of 
its exchange. It is still an object of great interest to the 
traveller, though its modern prosperity bears no compari- 
son to three hundred years ago, when it was the richest 
commercial metropolis in Europe, and had a population of 
200,000. The shipping at its wharves, the strong ware- 
houses, the broad and princely streets, with their long rows 
of beautiful shops and ** stores," indicated large and in- 
creasing opulence, and the vast depot of petroleum re- 
minded me of the new source of traflic that has lately been 
added to the wealth of Pennsylvania. Yet among all this 
forest of masts and steam-pipes I looked in vain for a line 
to Philadelphia. There were several successful steamers 
to New York, and a company had just been organized to 
put on one between Boston and Antwerp, but nothing was 
done or doing to open similar communication with a city 
of nearly 800,000 souls, which boasts of extraordinary 
facilities for commerce, and which, at the beginning of the 
century, controlled the foreign trade even to the exclusion 
of New York. Questions were asked of me by intelligent 



Antwerp, 16"] 

business men to account for this indilTerence, and I could 
give no satisfactory answer, especially when I recollected 
that we had no steam communication with Liverpool itself 
Boston, and even Baltimore, have their lines, and are 
doing well ; but Philadelphia is still inert. It is folly to 
argue that we cannot establish a splendid line of steamers 
if we resolve to do it. How long do you think Chicago 
would have waited, with a river so near the sea, added to 
railroads running through valleys richer than the Nile, 
and extending their iron arms to grasj) the priceless trade 
of the Pacific ? 

Antwerp, like all the old cities of this region, formerly 
known as "the Low Countries," abounds in works of art. 
Here the painter Rubens achieved his grandest triumphs, 
and here his descendants are living in great wealth and re- 
spectability. The Academy of St. Luke, for the encourage- 
ment of painting, in this city, one of the oldest in Europe, 
was established in 1.554, by Philip the Good, and patron- 
ized by succeeding monarchs, and is regarded as the cradle 
of the Flemish school, of which Rubens was the impassioned 
and untiriog interpreter. His pupil and rival Vandyck, 
and his contemporaries and successors, are recalled in 
many of their best productions, but Ptubens is seen and 
worshipped everywhere. The labors of this one man were 
prodigious ; and as you are pointed to the originals of his 
genius in every gallery of Europe, you are impressed as 
much by his fertility and industry as by his conceded 
genius. His master-piece, " The Descent from the Cross," 
hanging in the magnificent Cathedral of Notre Dame, 
copies of which you see everywhere, is always surrounded 
by crowds of admirers. Sir Joshua Reynolds paid it the 
highest tribute of praise, saying, " Rubens' Christ is one 
of the finest figures ever invented ; it is most correctl}^ 
drawn, and in attitude most difficult to execute. The 
hanging of the head on the shoulder, and the falling of the 
body on one side, give it such an appearance of the heavi- 



268 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

ness of death that nothing can exceed it." One of Enbens' 
characteristics was to paint his kindred in nearl}'' all his 
sacred pictures ; and his tirst and second wives, his children, 
his father, his father-in-law, and even his uncle, are respec- 
tively made to figure as the Marj^s, the Infiint Saviour, 
Joseph, the AVise ^Mon of the East, ko,. ; and in one of his 
master-pieces Eubens paints himself as the Centurion. 

When I stood before his renowned achievement of '* The 
Pescont from the Cross," it was on a lovel}^ Sabbath 
morning, and the immense Cathedral was crowded with 
worshippers, through whose reverential and kneeling ranks 
we had to thread our way to get a sight of it. The eflect 
was inexpressibly fine. The interior of this great temple, 
divided into seven aisles, is three hundred and ninety feet 
long and two hundred and fifty feet wide, and the vast and 
lofty choir and nave, with three great divisions on each 
side, is very grand. The Cathedral was sacked by the 
Iconoclasts in 1566, when its rich altars, ornaments, and 
sculptures were burned or carried ofi"; but they have been 
gorgeously replaced, if we may judge by the splendor and 
beauty of the existing treasures. Eubens came after this 
spoliation, and his intellect has immortalized every thing 
it has touched. There is a treble idolatr}^ of the man. 
Before his great picture of '' The Descent from the Cross " 
were not only admiring strangers like ourselves, and stu- 
dents sketching rough lines of the famous conception, but 
numbers of the faithful of the Church, who, on bended 
knees, praj^ed to " Marj", the INEother," and to the '' Cruci- 
fied Son," and it seemed as if their devotions were not less 
sacred because the objects of their worship have been 
drawn by the almost inspired pencil of their beloved 
Rubens. The expression of these figures and the whole 
idea, so full of love for the illustrious painter, proved not 
ovUj that art was still alive among these people, but im- 
pressed upon my mind a lasting lesson ; and as I passed 
through the other churches, and saw the numerous statues 



Antwerp o 269 

in honor of the man that had done honor to Antwerp, I 
forgot that most of this wealth was expended in the days 
of Ijloody religious proscriptions. 

'I'Le wretched attempts or rather caricatures of art which 
are allowed to disgrace the noble Pvotunda of the American 
Capitol, so often denounced by men of taste, seemed to my 
recollection more than ever like insults to those they aspire 
to typify. But this is not all the intelligent American 
gathers as he gazes upon these triVjutes to the illustrious 
dead in foreign lands. Rejecting the frequency with which 
the Saviour is represented in the most excruciating and 
repulsive forms, for the purpose of terrifying the ignorant 
and riveting the influence of the priesthood, and also the 
obsequious practice of preserving the features of cruel 
kings and sensual nobles, still we could copy one settled 
habitude of the Old World ancl profit immensely by the 
experiment. I mean the gratitude that perpetuates the 
memory of those who have done good to mankind, whether 
in religion, in statesmanship, in science, in art, or in arms. 
You meet these monuments everywhere in Great Britain. 
In London you have Shakspeare, Milton, Sir Thomas 
Gresham, Addison, Dryden, Pope, Ben Jonson, Dr. John- 
son, Sir Hans Sloane, Beckford, Granville Sharp, Bobert 
Burns, their associates and successors — and the great of 
later generations, Watt, of the steam-engine, George 
Stephenson, the railway engineer. Nelson, Walter Scott, 
Dr. Jenner, Herschel, the astronomer, Wilberforce, Sheri- 
dan, Burke, Pitt, Fox, Canning, Wellington, Palmerston. 
In Paris, though the fierce fires of revolution, and changing 
dynasties, with changing doctrines, have dethroned many 
just and uplifted many unjust men. Genius, Benevolence, 
and Bravery are everywhere kept in reverence ; while in Ger- 
many you find these symbols of public gratitude on every 
hand. While the Catholics excel in the memorials to their 
saints, the Protestants delight to horfor their great leaders 
and champions. Luther, Melancthon. the Elector of Saxony, 



270 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

William of Orange, Calvin, John Hiiss, Goethe, Schiller, 
Humboldt, and other intellectual kings, are remembered, 
if not as ostentatioiish' as the traditionary pillars of 
Romanism, at least as aiieotionately and permanently. 

One of the most snggestive illustrations of the habit of 
honoring genius in the Old TTorld is the story of Quontiu 
Matsys. the Antwerp blacksmith, who, tailing in loye with 
a rich and noble painter's daughter, changed his profes- 
sion, succeeded eyen better with pencil and palette than 
with forge and hammer, and, as a painter, won the lady he 
had presumed to love when an artizan. His tine painting in 
the Museum (a Descent from the Cross) is the result of his 
ambitious resolve, and near the foot of the tower of the 
Cathedral the visitor is pointed out an elegant gothic 
canop}' of wrought-iron over an ancient draw-well, the 
conception and work of the same versatile mechanic. 
Surmounting the canopy is a beautiful iron figure of a 
knight in armor, and at the side of the west door of the 
Cathedral is a tablet set into the wall, upon which is en- 
graved these words in Latin : 

"'Twas Love connubial taught the smith to paint." 

The whole history of our own Republic, down to the terri- 
ble episode of the war for its preservation — from which, in- 
deed, a higher civilization dates, a new and brighter future 
begins — abounds in objects deserving to be commemorated • 
by the best efforts of human genius. A people who have been 
absorbed in the mighty task of building a refuge against 
oppression for the tribes of men, and before the}' have 
completed their first century compelled to meet the 
bloodiest rebellion against natural rights in the world's 
experience, have had little opportunity to imitate, much 
less to excel, those nations whose victories in art have 
been grand and numerous in proportion as their popu- 
lation have been kPpt down. Yet I cannot but long 
for the day when American painters and sculptors will 



Holland, 271 

rise to compete with the ^eatcBt masters of ancient and 
niofJcrn J^Jiirope, and when their firHt and most succesHful 
achievenientH will be to copy and preserve the features and 
forms of those heroes in peace and in war who have con- 
tributed to the organijzation and to the salvation of our 
liberties. 



L.— HOLLAND. 

A LAND WRESTED FROM TUB SEA-^WINDMILLS — THE GREAT 
Di^KES — COST OF MAINTAINING THEM — CANALS — THE 
HAGUE — ROTTERDAM — AMSTERDAM — MOTLEY'S DUTCH HIS- 
TORY — HIS CONTEMPLATED GREATER AVORK —INTERRUPTION 
FROM WASHINGTON. 

The Hague, Holland, Augunt 11, 1867. 

A country as flat and fruitful as the richest American 
prairie is that known as Holland or the Netherlands, and 
no spot of earth is stranger or more instructive. After the 
lovely lakes and frozen mountains of Switzerland, and the 
ancient architecture on the grape-covered shores of the 
Khine, there was something startling in the contrast pre- 
sented by a vast table-land, not inaptly styled, because 
absolutely recovered from, "the bottom of the sea." I 
have now traversed a large part of this curious domain, 
and find it an object of intense and increasing interest. 
You pass for hundreds of miles- over a territory without a 
fence, and yet the fields are carefully divided by narrow 
canals, which, while draining them of their superfluous mois- 
ture, at the same time protect them as successfully as strong 
barriers of stone. These wonderful expanses are singularly 
fertile ; and he who prefers to jjeruse the present and to 
forecast the future of a people by the works of their own 
labor, will be deeply impressed b}^ these and the other 



2J2 Colonel Fornefs Letters from Europe, 

greater proofs of liumjvu oncvjry which abound iu IToUand. 
For that countrv is a raoiuimont of patient industry and 
unflairging persoveninoe ; and it is ditVionlt to decide, as wo 
read its history, whether it is most deservini:: of praise for 
its resistance to the tvniuny of the elements or to the 
cruelty of man. Its people have not only conquered au 
empire from the sea, and for centuries su(?cessfully com- 
bated the ever-nerving* ettbrts of t^ld t\\\ni to recover the 
treasures she has lost. Init thej- have made the very winds 
their slaves. Others employ the multiplied modern agencies 
of steam, but the Ilolhinders. for tlve hundred years, have 
adopted the windmill to grind their corn, to saw their tim- 
ber, to crush the rape-seed for oil, to beat hemp, and to 
dram the soil, by exhausting* the water from the land and 
pouring* it into the canals and rivers. As a great writer 
observes : *• It might be supposed that the absence of those 
elevations Avhich atford shelter to other countries, would 
leave Holland at the mercy of every blast that blows. So 
fkr is this from being the case, not a breath of air is al- 
lowed to pass M-ithout paying toll by turning a wind-mill." 
I cannot describe to you the appearance of hundreds of 
these odd machines, moving their huge shadows all over 
the landscape at the same time. They are so much cheaper 
than steam for all purposes that, notwithstanding the mighty 
progress of that revolutionary discovery, they are still in 
universal use in this country. 1 have counted tifty in view 
at one time. They are much larger than in America. A 
single " sail,-' or fan, is often one hundred and twenty feet 
long, and the under part of the structures from which they 
■wave their banner-like wings are generally comfortable 
dwellings. So that it may be said, if the country Swiss 
live in their barns and next door to their stables, the conn- 
try Hollanders live in their windmills. There ai*e several 
thousand windmills in this country, the annual cost of which 
is three millions of dollars. In fact, '"tlie laws of nature 
seem to be reversed in Holland." 



Holland. 273 

The wLole country stands uj^on the most unstable founda- 
tion ; and but for the great dykes that surround it Jike 
nji|:^hty fortresses, it would be swept back into the ocean 
from which it came ; and it is confidently asserted that if 
human care were removed for only six months, the waves 
would reclaim their ancient dominion. Most of the whole 
country lies far below the level of the sea. The lowest part 
of it is twenty-four feet below high-water mark, and when 
the tide is driven by the wind it is thirty feet. '* \y\ no 
other country do the keels of the shijjs float above the 
chimneys, and nowhere else does the frog, croaking from 
among the Ifulrushes, look down upon the swallow on the 
house-top." The mighty dykes, erected to keep out the 
ever threatening and encroaching billows, are marvels of 
human toil and skill ; and as the rivers and inland lakes, 
nearly all of them direct tributaries to or estuaries of the 
sea itself, are as dangerous as the ocean, the expense and 
trouble are incessant and immense. These dykes are built 
upon long piles driven far into the porous soil, forming the 
base upon which rests a heavy substratum of clay — the 
whole foundation being from 120 to 150 feet in width; and 
the front is thatched with a kind of wicker-work of inter- 
woven willow twigs ; the interstices filled with puddled 
clay to render it compact, while the base is often neatly 
faced with masonry. A fine road runs along the top, and 
rows of trees give it a xjicturesque effect. These indispen- 
sable barriers ate terribly expensive, and impose a heavy 
tax upon the peoj^le. The sum annually expended to keejj 
them in repair and to regulate the level of the water, to j)re- 
vent the cities and farms from being submerged, is tUrae 
millionH of dollars — a burden not to be envied when we re- 
flect that it is collected from a population not larger than 
that of Pennsylvania, and is only a portion of the pjrice 
they pay for the mere j^rivilege of living. It excites novel 
sensations to see over three millions of human hieings 
living, as it were, under the water, and only protected from 



274 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

inundation by their own unsleeping Tigilance. TTatclinien 
are stationed along these lines of artificial defence against 
the assailing sea during the winter season, when " the 
broad ocean leans against the land," and when the immense 
Tolume of water cannot find ready passage through the 
narrow channel at Dover and falls back upon the coast of 
Holland and threatens to engulf the whole country. I 
thought of Mr. Sumner's splendid speech two years ago, 
when he employed this interesting fact to depicture the 
dangers of the American Republic and to enforce the duty 
of constant watchfulness over liberties just rescued from 
the bloody whirlpool of rebellion, and still in peril of being 
wrested fi-om us by the authors of that measureless crime. 
These canals not onlj' divide the interior country, serv- 
ing the treble purpose of drains and fences — not onl}^ carry 
the produce from the farms into the rivers and the sea — ^but 
pass through the chief cities. It was very odd to see how 
they took the place of streets in Rotterdam and Am- 
sterdam. Imagine Broad street, in Philadelphia, or Penn- 
sylvania avenue, in TTashiugton, with a sluggish stream 
running through the middle, even to the curbs, and the 
tall houses on both sides reflected in the water, and these 
again crossed by other similar thoroughfares, with huge 
ships loading and unloadmg at your very door-steps, and 
you have some idea of the business centres of these Dutch 
cities. ^Now and then, where a solid causeway traverses 
the line, a beautiful bridge relieves the perspective. The 
shouts of the laborers and boat-hands, many of whom are 
women, the bustle on the narrow footpaths, the outlandish 
dresses and cui'ious caps of the peasant-girls, broad-frilled 
and pinned close to their faces with gilded jewelry, and the 
great wooden shoes of both sexes, young and old, united 
to create a scene that looked more like fancy than reality 
to my American eyes. Although Holland labors under 
many great natural disadvantages, her wind-mUls save the 
cost of coal and steam-engines, and her canals save the 



Holland, 275 

expense of horses. Instead of loading great wagons on the 
fields and hauling the crops awa}^ boats of considerable 
tonnage are pulled into the canals which divide and subdi- 
vide the plantations, then filled with the ripe grain or ready 
hay, and thence sailed to the nearest warehouse or country 
town for storage or sale. 

The cities of Holland which it has been my good fortune 
to see, the Hague, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam, are pros- 
perous and full of attractions. The Hague, at which I am 
now writing (three miles from the German Ocean), where 
the King resides, is one of the best built cities in Europe. 
Its streets are wide, well-paved, and scrupulously clean, 
its public buildings imposing, and the private houses of its 
wealthy citizens, many of them of brick, very like the best 
style of residences in old Pennsylvania towns like Lancas- 
ter, York, Reading, Easton, and Harrisburg. The sea-side 
resort of Schevingen, fifteen minutes ride from the city, is 
a favorite rendezvous of the Dutch gentry, but has a hard, 
bare, and inhospitable look. As I stood on the beach and 
watched the beer-drinkers at their little tables, and listened 
to the band in a wooden pagoda, I thought of the happier 
crowds at Cape May, Newport, Long Branch, Atlantic 
City, and other ocean cities in my own dear country. The 
absence of vegetation made the contrast stronger as I 
recollected the glorious verdure and splendid country-seats 
adjoining these resorts in America. Rotterdam is larger 
than the Hague, and ships of the largest class, laden with 
merchandise from foreign lands, pass into the very heart of 
the town. Amsterdam, the commercial capital, is emi- 
nently cosmopolitan, abounding in Dutch characteristics, yet 
trading with all parts of the world, and rewards the most 
careful observation. Its population is estimated at 260,000, 
and when you are told that this great city — palaces, 
houses, factories, canals, and sluices — is built on piles, you 
will agree with Erasmus, who wrote, after seeing it in the 
sixteenth century, that he had reached a place whose in- 



276 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

habitants, like crows, lived in the tops of the trees. In 
walking through the city, which contains more canals than 
streets, I was greatly impressed by the thrift and prosperity 
of the people ; and as I saw its liquid avenues reflecting 
princely buildings, gorgeous shops, theatres, mansions, and 
squares, it was almost impossible to realize that the foun- 
dation of all this solid grandeur was once the quivering 
floor of the treacherous deep. 

The conflicts of the people of Holland with savage na- 
ture on the one hand, and savage human nature on the 
other, constitute some marvellous chapters in the world's 
history. If Belgium, no matter how changed by modern 
research, is still a strong arm of Catholicity, Holland 
gratefully ratifies, in the light of a new and better age, the 
value of those precious Protestant' fruits which she wrung 
from the remorseless Spaniard nearly three hundred years 
ago. No American can travel through her level domains 
and read the story of those conflicts in the books of her 
libraries, and the eloquent witnesses of her great churches, 
castles, fortifications, and ramparts, without feeling that if 
William the Silent had not prevailed against the Spanish 
Inquisition, the Western Continent would probably never 
have become the beacon-light of civil and religious liberty. 
It was fitting that this memorable event should be descri- 
bed by an American scholar, and better still, that it should 
have been prepared and published in the midst of the re- 
bellion against our own Government ; for the lessons taught 
during the period when Charles Y. and his despotic and 
perfidious son plotted and murdered to establish the 
Catholic faith in the Netherlands, possess a special interest 
to one who prayed for the downfall of those who sought, by 
a process no less bloody, to prepetuate human slavery in 
the United States. I allude, of course, to the book of 
Mr. Motlej', the late American Minister at Yienna, " The 
Dutch Republic," which I have read and studied for the 
second time, with rare pleasure, in travelling through the 



Holland, 277 

country where the exciting drama took place which he 
paints with such enchanting fidelity. It was reserved for 
an American, imbued as with the true spirit of liberty, to 
produce the best history of that time. I felt proud to see 
his work not only accepted as the standard authority by 
foreigners, but enrolled among the " household words " of 
the Hollanders themselves. Even many of the English 
guide-books, not accustomed to speak kindly of Ameri- 
cans, commend it to travellers as the very best and most 
authentic history of Holland that has ever appeared. 

The readers of these letters will do me the justice to 
recollect that I have carefully avoided all severe reflections 
upon the political leaders in the United States. I have 
done so because, in my absence, I have scarcely indulged 
a party feeling, and because I preferred to judge of things 
in Europe by comparing them with my own country with- 
out reference to domestic questions. But the persecution 
of Mr. Motley, and his removal from the high post he 
signally adorned as Mr. Lincoln's personal appointment, 
and in the midst of his brilliant labors, without any cause, 
save to punish his supjDosed sympathy with Congress, has 
produced an impression in Europe, as well among his own 
countrymen as among his learned associates and friends 
of other nations, that cannot be left unrecorded. The 
sequel of ■' The United Netherlands," '' carrying the story 
through a longer range of years, and painting the progress 
of the Republic in its palmy days," finished just about the 
time Seward set his bloodhounds upon his track, and, act- 
ing upon the falsehoods of anonymous calumniators, dis- 
placed and vainly sought to disgrace him, will soon be 
published in New York and London, and is said, by those 
who have been so fortunate as to read it "in advance," to 
be even more fascinating than the splendid original. 

But what adds to the outrage is the fact, that just as Mr. 
Motley received Seward's note of dismissal, he had pre- 
pared to begin the History of the '' Thirty Years War in 



278 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

Germany," an episode in European annals, however often 
related by others, which needed the classic and glowing 
pen of Motley, his keen research and impartial judgment, 
to make it useful to the great cause of Human Freedom. 
So anxious were the scholars of Europe that he should 
undertake the task, that private and public libraries, and 
precious manuscripts and secret archives of the German 
Government, were generously tendered for his use. He 
had, in fact, commenced his labors ; and now, as the 
Americans in Yienna call to see their illustrious country- 
man, they see those evidences of the care and enthusiasm 
with which he had entered upon his new and noble mission. 
His diplomatic associates, like the learned men around him, 
could scarcely believe that even a man so lost to manhood 
as Andrew Johnson, or an intriguer so sunk in general 
esteem as William H. Seward, would include Mr. Motley 
in their round of remorseless ingratitude. Other nations 
would be x^roud to honor and to help a philosopher so 
qualified to honor his own Government and his race. It 
was reserved for the present parody upon administrations 
at Washington to complete its title to universal scorn by 
striking this cowardly blow. Mr. Motley does not attempt 
to deny that this blow was as mortifying as it vfas unex- 
pected, and that it will forever postpone his great work by 
compelling him to leave the scene where he can alone 
successfully complete it. 

It is painful to see how Seward's submission to Johnson 
has demoralized our foreign service. *' The trail of the 
serpent is over it all." At a time when the policy of Con- 
gress is the best and the only policy of reconstruction, and 
when it is cordially supported by the Southern leaders, 
and with an ardor and an enthusiasm by the republicans 
of Europe which they never exhibited on any question, not 
a voice is raised in its favor by the American ministers and 
consuls. Some of these officials are worthy and patriotic 
men, and earnestly sympathise with Congress; but they 



Holland. 279 

dare not speak, lest they may be instantly reported by the 
spies of Seward, who literally swarm around them, and 
punished by instant removal. As they are generally men 
dependent upon their salaries, they cannot break their 
silence, even at the risk of being quoted in favor of a polic}^ 
they abhor from their souls. Others are not so chary, as 
you have seen by their' published replies to the inquisi- 
torial circulars of the Department and its hirelings. The 
effect of these infamous practices upon the American char- 
acter in foreign lands would be appalling but for the fact 
that Seward' and Johnson are as well understood as they 
are at home, in consequence of the active patriotism of the 
great body of American travellers, whose supjoort of Con- 
gress is so intelligent and persistent that nobody is left in 
ignorance of its justice, or of the contemptible weakness 
and wickedness of the accidental President and his sup- 
porters. And if the outrage upon Mr. Motley has given 
emphasis to this sentiment, the news just received of the 
outrage upon Mr Stanton intensifies it. None of our 
statesmen stand higher in estimation in Europe than 
Mr. Stanton. As the overthrow of the rebellion, with its 
terrible procession of victory and death, made all mankind 
familiar, and millions for the first time, with our country, 
it brought out in conspicuous relief the indomitable Sec- 
retary of War ; and, with the exception of Lincoln and 
Grant, Stanton is perhaps the best known and most honored 
of all who were connected with our stupendous military 
operations. His character assumed a peculiar interest as 
the struggle advanced ; and, when it ended in Mr. Lincoln's 
murder, upon his iron courage and, Cromwellian conscien- 
tiousness the fortunes of the rescued but broken Republic 
chiefly rested. This sacrifice by Johnson, in direct defiance 
of law, is one of the crimes which corrupt and abandoned 
men are too apt to perpetrate to hasten their own doom or 
to give victory to the oppressed. The atrocities of Philip 
the Second sent hundreds and thousands of innocent men 

18 



2 So Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

and women to their long account, and purchased the 
assassination of William of Orange, the Lincoln of his age. 
Yet Holland was saved to true religion and liberty. And 
Andrew Johnson is unconsciously forcing Congress to 
arouse the sleeping *4ion of the Constitution," and thus 
rid our country of a curse greater than any that ever 
atiiieted any people in the person of a single individual. 



LL— ENGLISH COUNTRY INNS. 

RIJEAL HOSTELRIES — CELEBRATED INXS — HAMPTON COURT 
PALACE — "THE PEACOCK '' AT ROWSLEY. 

London, August 13, 1867. 

Nothing in literature, old or new. excites more agreeable 
sensations than the descriptions of English country inns. 
From the days of Shakspeare to the days of Dickens, in- 
cluding the fascinating memoirs of our own countryman, 
Washington Irving, those delicious retreats have extorted 
the most graceful expressions of praise. Almost every 
British novelist of the present time fixes one of these rural 
symposiumc in his stor}^ ; and nothing is more refreshing 
than to see them handsomel}^ and faithfull}' illustrated in 
the fashionable dramas of the day. Those of my readers 
who have had the pleasure of seeing the '' Long Strike," 
'' Caste/' " Cur's," " Rosedale," '* The Flying Scud," and 
other successful creations of the London pla^^wiights, were 
doubtless impressed \)y the rare representation of English 
country life, A considerable part of the sudden and uni- 
versal yet transient success of Mrs. Hemy Wood's novels 
rested upon the manner in which she wove the threads of 
her romances around the rural inns. And now that I have 



English Country Inns, 281 

seen and enjoyed several of them, I can make due allow- 
ance for the raptures they have Inspired. 

It is easy to picture the quiet scholar, retiring from the 
heat and strife of the great city, to rest and think in these 
calm abodes, where nature seems to be constantly at peace, 
and where every comfort can be provided, without intru- 
sion, at small expense. " The Red Horse," at Stratford-on- 
Avon, within sight of the church where Shakspeare reposes, 
and where many authentic relics of the great master are 
preserved, is a choice stopping-place for strangers and 
the local gentry, and a more agreeable rest in which to 
recall the past, crowded not simply with recollections of 
Shakspeare, but with many other events, could not be de- 
sired. The world-renowned " Star and Garter," at Rich- 
mond, near London, can hardly be put in the same category, 
though it well deserves a lengthy description. The view 
from Richmond Hill, where it stands, is probably unsur- 
passed in Great Britain. Thence you can see Twicken- 
ham, the spot where stood the house of Pope, whose body 
is interred in the neic^hborinoj church. Close at hand is 
Strawberry Hill, once the residence of Horace Walpole. 

Two miles from this crossing the Thames Bridge, brings 
you to Hampton Court, bailt originally by Cardinal Wol- 
sey, and by him presented to Henry YIII., the birthplace 
of Edward YI., where also the masks and tournaments of 
Philip and Mary and of Elizabeth were held, where Crom- 
well's third daughter was married to Lord Fauconberg, and 
where long rows of portraits of many of the beauties of 
Charles II. 's Court are preserved. Hampton Court is not 
now occupied by the royal family, and is preserved rather 
as a monument of other days. It is what is called " a show 
house," not only the grounds in which the Dutch landscape 
gardening of the period of the revolution is preserved, but 
Wolsey's magnificent hall and the fine saloons, whose 
walls are covered with pictures, being thrown open to the 
public. Several rooms are wholly filled with portraits and 



282 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

other paintings by Benjamin West, the Pennsylvanian, 
who succeeded Sir Joshua Reynolds as President of the 
Royal Academy of England. Numerous suites of apart- 
ments in Hampton Court Palace have been granted by 
what is termed '' Royal bounty " to decayed dowagers and 
dilapidated junior members of the peerage, who are allowed 
to occupy them rent free. Kew Gardens have their mag- 
nificent conservatories and wonderful variegated parterres, 
with different flowers, combined almost as closely and 
accurately as in the finest tapestry, in the vicinity. All 
these and many more attractions you can enjoy by a visit 
to the " Star and Garter," if you give an afternoon to 
the task ; but you must not be surprised when you re- 
turn to your dinner to find these beauties put into the bill; 
and you pay about five times more for what you get, in- 
cluding the attendance of the servants, than at any of the 
more modest, and I think more agreeable, country inns. 

But among all these resorts none deserves such high 
praise as " The Peacock," at Rowsley, in Derbyshire, where 
the visitor to Haddon Hall and Chatsworth generally halts, 
after he has inspected the gorgeous wonders of these lux- 
urious estates. It is kept by a charming elderly lady, and 
is a perfect gem in its appointments, interior and exterior. 
Covered in great part with ivy of many years growth, and 
standing at a quiet corner in the midst of a little village, 
which, like itself, seems to be literally sheathed in a mass 
of green undying verdure, extending of course to the hedges 
themselves, it has the appearance rather of a fancy picture 
than as we found it, a hospitable, comfortable, and welcome 
reality. Every thing was clean, fresh, and cheap, and when 
we returned our thanks andwere about bidding farewell to 
our pleasant hostess, we gladly acceded to her request to 
enter our names in the book where she preserves the auto- 
graphs and compliments of the Americans who, during a 
long course of years, had, in their journeyings through this 
historic neighborhood, stopped under her cosy roof-tree. 



The Irish Church. 283 

Here were the signatures and the writing of many now 
dead and gone, and of not a few still living in high and 
honorable i^osition. It is something worth knowing and 
recording that, in the midst of the inroads of a revolution- 
ary and improving civilization, the country inns of England 
remain unspoiled, though riper than ever, and all the bet- 
ter, because to their renowned characteristics they have 
added many of the advantages of modern civilization. 



LII.— THE IRISH CHUECH. 

THE STATE CHURCH IN IRELAND—THE MINORITY GOVERNS THE 

MAJORITY — MAZZINI ON THE CHURCH IN ITALY ACTION 

OF CATHOLICITY — IRISH CHURCH REFORM — THE QUESTION 
FAIRLY STATED. 

LoNDOK, August 14, 1867. 

Undoubtedly the accusation most diflScult to repel, and 
which, until it is met by a frank concession of all that is 
demanded, will be an indelible stain upon the character of 
the British Government, is the stubborn maintenance of 
the Church of England in the Catholic country of Ireland, 
in persistent and insolent defiance of the wishes of an im- 
mense majority of the people, who are forced to support it 
out of their own hard earnings. I have repeatedly directed 
attention to this subject, and now that the P^efoi'm bill has 
become a law, when high hopes are entertained that by 
means of the extended franchise thus placed in the hands 
of the English people, the appeals of the liberal re- 
formers, headed by Mr. Bright, will result in the removal 
of this and other great wrongs, some reflections upon it 
may not be out of place. I am the more free to make them 



284 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

because I lieai' that some comments of mine upon the 
Catholic Church on the Continent have excited the anger 
of certain sectarian journals in my own couutiy. These 
critics, like all bigots, are only satisfied when praised ; they 
are so much in love with their own faith that they cannot 
tolerate a fearless investigation into the abuses of their 
Church — abuses, by the wa}^, so monstrous as to be ad- 
mitted by all intelligent Catholics in Italy, and so felt by 
the progressive Catholic leaders in that country as to have 
arrayed against the Pope an extended, and what I believe 
will become an irresistible, opposition. The great Italian 
patriot Mazzini, who lives in England, in a very recent let' 
ter speaking of the condition of the Church in Ital}^, uses 
the following strong language : 

Years have confirmed what I then declared : the papacy is now 
a corpse beyond all power of galvanization. It is the lying 
mockery of a religion; a source of perennial corruption and im- 
morality among the nations, and most fatally such to oar own, 
upon whose very soul weighs the incubus and example of that lie. 
But, at the present day, we either do know, or ought to know, the 
cause of this. 

All contact with the papacy is contact with death, carrying the 
taint of its corruption over rising Italy, and educating her masses 
in falsehood — not because cardinals, bishops, and monks traded in 
indulgences three centuries ago — not because this or that pope 
trafficked in cowardly concessions to princes, or in the matrimony 
of hia own bastards with the bastards of dukes, petty tyrants, or 
kings, to obtain some patch of territory or temporal dominion ; not 
because they have governed and persecuted men according to 
their arbitary will ; but because they cannot do other even if they 
would. 

These are the words of a Catholic, or of one who was a 
Catholic, but they can no more apply to the Catholic 
Church in the United States than what I intend to say 
of the Church of England applies to the American Episco- 
pal Church. I do not fear Catholicity in my own country. 
Jlegarding it as at this time the most powerful ally of des- 



The Irish Church, 285 

potism on the continent of Europe, whether wielded by 
Napoleon in France, the Bourbons in Spain, the Pope in 
Italy, or the priesthood in Germany, I believe that in the 
attrition of free opinion, and the progress of all the improv- 
ing agencies, no system of religion or politics not founded 
upon justice and reason can endure in the United States of 
America. If any further proof were required, I would refer 
to the fact that the old Catholic territory successively pur- 
chased and conquered by the United States is rapidly and 
surely passing under Protestant influence. And the British 
Government, which claims to be the most enlightened in 
the Old World, cannot retain the respect of mankind while 
adhering to its atrocious and unjust policy in Ireland. 
There is something inconceivable in the stubbornness with 
which the British aristocracy cling to this system. A re- 
cent writer expresses the opinion that if they would cease 
their opposition to the efforts of the reformers, and consent 
to the removal of the Church of England from Ireland, 
" the efi'ect would be a great moral impetus to Protest- 
antism, and Ireland would become a more religious, more 
united, and more prosperous country than it has ever been 
since the days of Saint Patrick." It is alleged that the 
Protestants in Ireland are the chief cause of the retention 
of the Established Church in that unhappy country ; and 
that if they would abandon their ground, Parliament would 
speedily accede to the argument of Mr. Bright and his as- 
sociates. If this be so, the intolerance of the Protestants 
is far less pardonable than the bigotry of the Catholics. 
An alien church maintained in Ireland, in ofl'ensive hostility 
to the known wishes or prejudices of the people, and sup- 
ported by their reluctant contributions, is a reproach — nay, 
a crime. As an evidence of the wrong which the aristocracy 
of England would perpetuate if they could, it need only be 
stated that the money extorted from the Irish Catholics 
for the maintenance of the English Church in Ireland rep- 
resents the enormous capital of thii'teen and a half million 



iS6 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

of pounds sterling, or nearly sixty-eiglit million dollars in 
gold. Xow, snpposo this money appropriated to the re- 
clamation of the waste land of that eountry, to the execu- 
tion of improvements and public works — above all, to the 
education of the people — could a nobler mission be conceived 
for any government, and could a more irresistibh> argument 
be addressed to a t3'rant to cause him to abandon a cruel 
tyranny ? You may rest assured that whatever the aris- 
tocracy in rarliameut may do, the Liberals, under the lead 
of John Bright, Groldwin Smith, and Stuart Alill, will 
never rest, now that they are phieed on the vantage-ground 
atlbrded l\v the Reform bill, until they have reUe\ed the 
Irish people of this burden. And I think I may say of all 
these men that there is not one who does not entertain pre- 
cisely my own .opinions in regard to the injurious tenden- 
cies of Catholic teachings and examples on the Continent. 
But, like genuine Christian statesmen, the}' do not hesitate, 
when they see their own nation inflict ing wrongs even upon 
afhith which they oppose, to denounce the act and to demand 
its cessation. Wiu-ring upon the abuses which have crept 
into the administration of justice in England itself, they 
are too brave and too honest to close their eyes to tlie in- 
justice that is heaped upon Ireland. 

The position of the Church of England in Ireland ma}^ 
be stated briefly from parliamentarj^ and other ollieial re- 
turns, which, however, must often be taken at a discount, 
for they proceed from persons who are directly interested 
in painting with rose-colored tints a system which has 
worked ver}^ well for their ancestors and themseh-es, how- 
ever badl}" it has operated upon Ireland. Considering 
that emigration, following famine and fever, has largely 
depopulated Ireland, it is no wonder that while there were 
853,100 Protestants (of all denominations and sects) in 
that country in 1834, there were only 093,357 in the j^ear 
1861, and still less in ISr.T There were 6,436,000 Roman 
Catholics in Ireland in 1S34, and onlv 4.505,-265 in 1S61 — 



The Irish Church. 287 

a number largely reduced in 1867. The members of the 
Catholic Church are not only the most numerous, but also 
the poorest people in Ireland, and they complain that, 
standing vv^ith the Church of England members in the pro- 
portion of about to I, they have to support not only their 
own clergy, but also the clergy of the minority. In some 
Irish parishes, where the Catholics are counted by thou- 
sands, few Protestants are to be found. An Irish friend, 
on v/hose statements I can rely, informs me that within 
his own knowledge, in one parish, in the south of Ireland, 
where there were over 2,000 Catholics, there were only 
eight Protestants ; but there was a Protestant rector, 
resident at a fashionable watering-place in England during 
the summer and autumn, and in Paris during the winter 
and spring, whose light duties were jjerformcd by a curate, 
to whom he paid $375 a year, a pretty balance of $10,000 
being Mh income, paid by the poor Catholics, while the 
Catholic rector and his -curate had to live upon less than 
$2,000 per annum between them, and compelled, by the 
humanity of their nature, to dispense charity on a com- 
paratively extended scale out of that amount. What Ire- 
land wants, and ravM have, ere long, is simply to be relieved 
from the compulsory maintenance of two Churches. Ireland 
demands, and certainly not unreasonably, that the volun- 
tary system be made to supersede the compulsory, as in 
this country — in short, that no man shall be called on to 
pay his own clergyman and also to pay the minister of 
a State Church in which he does not believe. If every 
man in Ireland paid his own minister, and none other, a 
great good would be the result, and the immense church 
property of Ireland, applied to the purposes of education 
and the improvement of the country, would thus be well 
applied. 

Before the formation of the " Young Ireland " party, 
Mr. O'Connell made an elaborate report, as Chairman of a 
Committee of Inquiry, to the Pvepeal Association, to the 



288 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

effect that " the most afflicting beyond comparison of all 
the grievances which the people of Ireland sustain, is to 
be foimd in the misappropriation of the Ecclesiastical 
Rerennes of Ireland.'' He contended that, as in England 
and Scotland, the ecclesiastical state revenues should be 
applied to the church of the majority of the inhabitants 
of Ireland. Instead of this, these revenues were wholly 
absorbed bj' the church of a very small minority in Ireland. 
The Catholics, who form a very large majority there, have 
to support, not only twenty-seven prelates, and over four 
thousand other clergy of their own, but two Archbishops, 
and ten Bishops of the Protestant Church, with their nu- 
merous minor clergy. To maintain their own clergy, and 
build and repair their own churches, is what the Irish 
Catholics have cheerfully done for over fourteen centuries, 
but they protest against doing this for the ministers and 
churches of another faith. !Xor do they claim that the 
ecclesiastical state revenues of Ireland should be applied to 
support the chui'ch of the majority of the Irish people. The 
surplus, after reasonable payment to the Protestant clergy, 
might be spent, the Catholics think, in the support of the 
poor, in the promotion of education, and in works of 
charity, applicable equally, and without distinction, to all 
sects and persuasions. Scotland does not support the 
church of the minority in Scotland : England does not sup- 
port the church of the minority in England : but Ireland, 
ever since the Reformation, has suffered and still suffers 
this great wrong and monstrous evil. It is notorious that 
the most genuine Protestantism in Ireland is to be found, 
not in her law-established, but in her Presbyterian churches. 
It was ascertained, I repeat, by the census of 1861, that 
6 9 3,35 1 persons were then in communion with the estab- 
lished church, the dissenting Protestants being 619,952, and 
the Roman Catholics 4,505,265. Yet the church exists for 
the first class only, it being the richest and most powerful, 
while the others, who form the mass of the people, have no 



The Irish Church. 289 

interest in it. There is one member of the State Church 
out of every ten persons in Ireland ; — that is, nine persons 
have to pay the clergy of that one as much, at least, as 
they voluntarily pay their own clergy. The geographical 
distinction of the Protestants and Catholics is an anomaly. 
Though in a large minority in Ulster and Leinster, the 
Protestants muster respectably tbere. But they count 
only 80,000 members in Munster and 40,000 in Connaught, 
there being man}" parishes in these provinces in which 
there are no Protestants, though the Catholics have to pay 
the State clergy precisely as if they had congregations. 
These 120,000 churchmen engross, in half of Ireland, the 
ecclesiastical funds of oM the inhabitants in the interest 
of a mere fractional portion. Thus, the State Church, the 
church of one-tenth of the population of Ireland, has a 
lordly episcopate, and a great number of subordinate digni- 
taries ; it has a numerous parochial clergy, settled on the 
land, with revenues exceeding $.3,000,000 per annum, and the 
glebe lands so much undervalued that the revenue ought to 
be counted as $4,000,000 a year. The episcopate has little 
to oversee — except its palaces and demesnes. The digni- 
taries often hold sham offices. In many places, the paro- 
chial clergy have empty churches and nominal flocks. 
These are facts the truth of which has been so often proved 
that no one ever dreams of questioning them now-a-days. 
That they establish a very strong case for nine-tenths of 
the Irish people, against a remarkably small minority, is 
wholly undeniable. Until the evil they involve is redressed, 
England will never have any real hold on subject Ireland. 
Perhaps it may be reserved for Lord Derby, to whom 
England is indebted for a more extensive Parliamentary 
Keform than any preceding statesman had the liberality to 
frame, the courage to produce, and the x^ower to carry, — it 
may be for him to eflect such a change in the State Church 
as will satisfy the reasonable and tolerant of all creeds in 
Ireland. Thirty -four years ago, when he was Irish Secre- 



290 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe^ 

tary, he reduced the number of Protestant Archbishops 
from four to two, and suppressed eight bishoprics by pro- 
viding for their absorption by other sees. The reduction 
of the Irish hierarchy from twenty-two to twelve prelates 
was a satisfactory measure, as far as it went, though it still 
left an Irish bishop's lowest income at $20,000 per annum, 
besides at least one palatial residence and demesne. What 
Lord Derby thus commenced in 1834, he would do well to 
complete in 1868, bj^ abolishing all paj^ment to the clergy 
of the State Church in Ireland, with the exception of what 
the bounty, the piety, and the affection of their respective 
flocks may bestow on them in a voluntary manner, even as 
with us in Pennsylvania and every other State in our Union. 
This done, and the tenure of leased land fairly fixed, Ire- 
land would have a chance, late though it be, of becoming 
prosperous, after so many centuries of sorrow and suffering, 
and the statesman who will create these changes will 
merit the gratitude of a noble but long oppressed people, 
the applause of his own and future time, and, better still, 
the approbation of his conscience — that ' still small voice ' 
whose utterance is so impressive. It would be as much 
for the advantage of Protestant as of Catholic, I am well 
assured here by those who know Ireland long and well, if 
such just changes could be made, and Lord Derby and Mr. 
Disraeli will be popular indeed, if they speedily effect them. 
To this reasonable result the action of Mr. Bright, Mr. J. 
Stuart Mill, and other able Liberals, is now rapidly leading. 
An able writer in the Westminster Bevieiv for July em- 
ploys the following language, from which it will be seen 
that the Reform party had begun a new mission, and the 
aristocracy of birth, wealth, and land must either join their 
ranks or yield to the pressure of inevitable destiny : 

It will be long before we can pardon the injury which " good " 
Society, as now constituted, has done to the English name and the 
English character. At present, it is the very worst tribunal to 
which the aggrieved can appeal for sympathy, and the very best 



The Irish Church, 



291 



before wWcli oppressors can appear for absolution. Its honors are 
awarded to the most unworthy. By Society the indiscriminate 
slaughter of Hindoos was applauded as the righteous retribution 
for the fictitious crimes of a few Sepoys. Amidst it the Southern 
slaveholder found their warmest friends when engaged in their 
vain attemps to enthrone slavery on the ruins of the United States. 
The leading members of Society outvied each other in their eager- 
ness to welcome the red-handed perpetrators of the foul deeds 
which have made the very name Jamaica a reproach to the Govern- 
ment of England in the estimation of all humane and honorable 
men. 

As the result of the more direct and comprehensive action of the 
nation over its affairs, we anticipate the gTowth'of a sounder pub- 
lic opinion, an opinion so powerful and penetrating that even 
"good" Society will be unable to resist its influence. Acting as 
a political unit, the people will hereafter be able to strive after a 
loftier and purer ideal than that which hitherto has been the ob- 
ject of national ambition. Until now we have taken delight in 
thinking that our fleets have triumphed on every sea ; that our flag 
has been upon every soil the symbol of victory ; that the sun always 
illumines a portion of our empire ; that none of the English race 
and speech are ruled by others speaking another language, or 
sprung from another stock, while men of nearly every nationality 
acknowledge our sovereign's rule. Eeflections like these are 
flattering to our vanity, but unsatisfactory to our reason. Far 
more praiseworthy would it be, if, as a notable American writer 
desired his countrymen to do, we took pride in proclaiming that 
" our true country is bounded on the north and south, on the east 
and* the west, by Justice." 



292 Colonel Forney i Letters from Europe, 



LIIL— EOYAL AUTHOESHIR 

QUEEN victoria's BIOGBAPHT OF PRINCE ALBERT — FUTURE 

REVELATIONS — THE PRINCE'S REPUTED LIBERALITY THE 

HEIR-APPARENT — OTHER SCIONS OF ROYALTY — A DARK 
FUTURE. 

London-, August 15, 1867. 

Since the Queen of England, as a royal author, published 
her private memoirs, under the title of " The Early Years 
of the Prince Consort," thousands of cui'ious comments 
were made, and not a few proclaimed to the world. The 
French revolutionist and political philosopher, Louis Blanc, 
who lives in London and is the regular correspondent of 
Le Temps, the Paris paper, has reviewed the Queen's book 
with a keen and caustic truthfulness that has not been imi- 
tated by any of the English writers. The work itself has 
been received by the British press so favorably, and treated 
so generously, not to say obsequiously, that a stranger, 
would suppose her Majesty as successful in the literary as 
she is amiable in the family circle. Apart from the objection 
that the volume is a revelation of the confidences between 
herself and her illustrious consort, the English Liberals 
anticipate that the volumes which are to follow will con- 
tain valuable information bearing upon public affairs, and 
especially upon the great contests soon to begin as a result 
of the extension of the elective franchise. They say that 
if the Queen is as free in speaking the truth in future vol- 
umes as she has been in that already published, there will 
undoubtedly be some rare developments concerning public 
events and public characters. That she is a woman of un- 
common will, and that she intends to be faithful to the 
mission she has marked out for herself, is evident from the 



Royal Authorship, 2^2 

fact, no longer denied, that many eminent persons vainly 
attempted to restrain her, and that she has been compelled 
to emplo}^ a "gentleman of the press" to assist her in 
finishing the work she has determined to produce. 

The Liberals claim that if Prince Albert were living he 
would give his hearty assent to many of the liberai reforms, 
and it will be a heavy reinforcement to their designs if her 
Majesty should prove that he was favorable to their views, 
and that many of the intolerant designs of the Tory leaders 
were checkmated through his benign influence. Her irrec- 
oncilable and prolonged repugnance to mingle in public 
aflairs, and her affectionate reverence for the memory of 
her beloved husband, are loudly complained of by many of 
her subjects, and particularly by those who contend that it 
is the Sovereign's duty to spend enormous sums for the 
purpose of cultivating luxurious habits and luxurious avo- 
cations among her people ; yet it deserves to be said that 
few of the foreign rulers have sustained so fair a reputation, 
and none will be more kindly remembered. 

There is nothing more appalling in the aspect of Europe 
than the scarcity of high intellect and commanding virtue 
in the present and future rulers. Those who assume to 
know insist that there is scarcely one among the so-called 
''heirs-apparent " fit to grapple with the stupendous prob- 
lems of the hour, or equal to the duty of proffering better 
governments to people more or less educated in the pro- 
gress of these revolutionary times. It is whispered, in all 
circles, that the Prince of Wales certainly does not follow 
the immortal counsel of Henry TV, to his son : 

" Had I so lavish of my presence been, 
So common-hackneyed in the eyes of men. 
So stale and cheap to vulgar company, 
Opinion, that did help me to the crown, 
Had still kept loyal to possession 
And left me in reputeless banishment, 
A fellow of no mark, nor likelihood. 



294 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

By being seldom seen, I could not stir, 

But, like a comet, I was wondered at, 

That men would tell their children — This is he ; 

Others would say — Where f which is Bolinghrokef 

And then I stole all courtesy from heaven, 

And dressed myself in such humility 

That I did pluck allegiance from men's hearts, 

Loud shouts and salutations from their mouths, 

Even in the presence of the crowned king. 

Thus did I keep my person fresh and new ; 

My presence, like a robe pontifical, 

Ne'er seen but wondered at ; and so my state, 

Seldom but sumptuous, showed like a feast 

And won by rareness, such solemnity." 

The feeble French Prince Imperial will have to grow 
into a brave and stout cavalier to encounter the rude 
blasts of the doubtful destiny that will inevitably follow 
his father's death. I do not believe the volatile, unreason- 
ing, and exacting Frenchmen will ever again accord the 
empire to any hands but their own, when he who now so 
craftily wields is finally compelled to drop the sceptre. 
The Crown Prince of Prussia, married to the eldest daugh- 
ter of Queen Victoria, is far from being popular among his 
father's subjects, though his wife is everywhere quoted as 
anxious to respond to the eager wishes of the German peo- 
ple for a better government. The young King of Bavaria 
is enamored more of objects of vertu than of obligations 
to his fellow-creatures. The Prince Royal of Holland, 
though not yet seventeen years old, is bitterly criticised 
because he prefers the gayeties of Parisian and continental 
life and refuses to bind himself in the fetters of matri- 
mony. Francis Joseph of Austria is far better remembered 
for his misfortunes than his benevolence. The King of 
Italy, Yictor Emmanuel, does not pretend to set himself 
up as a model of morality, and is never defended as such 
by his friends. The Emperor of the Russias, in poor 
health and burdened with debt, seems in no state to enter 



St. PauFs Cathedral. 2^^ 

into the complications wMch. threaten soon to convulse 
civilized Europe. Of the Spanish-Bourbon monarchy, the 
best that can be said is, that it is the worst of a long and 
wicked line, and probably the last. The smaller princes 
of Germany — -those who have been left untouched by the 
warlike besom of Bismarck — are so insignificant that the 
chief subsistence " of the wealthiest is upon their licensed 
gambling-houses. Such is the spectacle presented when 
civilized Europe should be strong in the persons of her 
rulers to meet the trying revolutions of the age. It can 
hardly be expected that an inquiring and restless people, 
overtaxed on the one hand, and ill-paid for their labor on 
the other, should continue to be satisfied with kings and 
princes who, instead of being examples for good, are sim- 
ply examples for evil. 



LIV— ST, PAUL'S CATHEDEAL. 

VIEW OF ST. PAUL'S — DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING — CHRIS- 
TOPHER WREN AND JOHN EVELYN — THE GREAT FIRS OP 

LONDON — OLD ST. PAUl'S — THE " RESURGAM " STONE 

THE DOME — wren's MONUMENT — HIS WORKS AND REMU- 
NERATION — CLASSIC MONUMENTS — NELSON AND WELLING- 
TON THE RULE OP DUTY. 

London, August 16, 1867. 

A visit to St. Paul's is not calculated to excite much ad- 
miration among those who have just left the ancient edifices 
of the Continent. Viewed from the exterior, unless you are 
standing on Blackfriar's Bridge or Ludgate Hill, you can- 
not take in its vast extent, surrounded and hemmed in as 
it is by other dark and inferior structures. Erom what 

19 



21^6 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

used to be the suburban heights of Hampstead, from the 
hill of Greenwich, or any other eminence overlooking the 
great city, the dome of St. Paul's ever remains a prominent 
and characteristic feature of London. Even when you 
enter, while the loftiness of the vaulting and the long 
ranges of columns and piers burst unexpectedly upon the 
sight, the apparent carelessness and want of cleanliness 
produce a very unpleasant feeling. There is none of the 
ever-present order and neatness which preside over the 
majestic piles in France and Germany ; and when we saw 
it the day was peculiarly a London dsij — a double com- 
pound of fog and rain, weighing down the atmosphere, and 
carr^^ing additional gloom into the mouldering aisles. 
Nevertheless the view upwards into the dome was very 
grand. It has been" so constructed as to show a spacious 
concave every way, and from the lantern at the to|), the light 
on a bright day pours down with admirable effect over the 
whole, as well as through the colonnade that encircles the 
basement. The windows are chiefly twelve feet wide by 
twenty-four high ; the aisles nineteen feet in clear width by 
thirty-eight feet in clear height ; the central avenues forty- 
five feet by eighty-four ; the vestibule at the western end 
forty-seven feet square by ninety-four feet high ; and the 
central space one hundred and eight feet in clear width by 
two hundred and sixteen feet high. At the junction of the 
choir and the nave the transepts intersect. Above this 
noble area rises the dome, its outer diameter 145 feet, its 
inner diameter 108 feet, with grand and imposing effect. 
It recedes about an inch for every foot in height. Eight 
large piers surround it. Each of these piers covers 1,360 
square feet of ground, and the lesser ones 380 square feet 
each. The whole space covered by the dome is upwards 
of half an acre. The lantern, which is said to weigh more 
than seven hundred tons, is supported by a brick cone. 
The exterior dome contains 16,801 square feet, and is tim- 
ber, covered with lead. Stone would have resisted decay 



SL PauFs Cathedral. 297 

for generations ; lightning or carelessness may in a mo- 
ment reduce the whole to ashes. If, like our own dome 
and rotunda at Washington, it could have been built of 
cast-iron, not only greater beauty, but enduring beauty, 
would have been secured. Two centuries ago, however, 
the use of iron was almost as much unknown to architects 
as to ship-builders. It is unnecessary to enter into full 
details of this most marked feature in the architecture of 
London, the noblest large building in classic style in the 
kingdom. Yet, immense as it is, the whole combination 
could actually stand within St. Peter's, at Rome. 

Even before the great fire of London, in 1668, Wren, the 
architect, had imagined a new London, with a new Cathe- 
dral, even more stately than the present, on the site of Old 
St. Paul's, the central point, from which various lines of 
broad and handsome streets were to radiate, the width 
varying from thirty to ninety feet. After the great fire, he 
presented his plan of such improvements. It was not ac- 
cepted, and consequently neither the new cathedral of St. 
Paul's nor the restored city of London were what he de- 
signed them to be. However, he did a great deal. Yery 
soon after his restoration, Charles the Second determined 
to repair Old St. Paul's, which had been sadly dilapidated 
and ill-used during the civil wars. Wren and John Evelyn, 
author of the "Sylva," and better known, in latter days, 
by his interesting " Diary," were made members of the 
commission appointed " for upholding and repairing the 
structure," and in a report made by Wren, he threw out 
such suggestions as showed his perceptions of the sub- 
lime and beautiful, greatness and boldness of conception, 
talent for the minutiae of practical detail, the power of rais- 
ing himself to a great undertaking, and of taking such 
precautions as would insure its being carried on should he 
die before its completion. But the majority of the com- 
missioners hesitated to recommend more than patching 
and repairing, and so the project flagged. Wren visited 



298 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

Paris, which then was perhaps the best practical school of 
architecture in the world, and where skill and labor, by 
means of a thousand workmen, were raising the palace of 
the Louvre, and studied the grandeur of Versailles, and 
the beauty of Fontainebleau, carefully procuring estimates 
of cost, particulars of workmanship, and an immense quan- 
tity of plans and sections, which he called ''bringing home 
all Paris upon paper." He was educating himself, in ad- 
vance but unawares, for his great work, and was prepared 
for it when the time arrived. 

Great part of London (the city, Ijdng within the ancient 
walls) was destroyed by fire on September 2-6, in the 3^ear 
1666, and it is recorded by Evelyn that, though his own 
plan for rebuilding had been placed in the King's hands, 
within two days of the conflagration, another had pre- 
viously been sent in. His own words are, " but Dr. Wren 
had got the start of me." Wren was appointed principal 
architect for rebuilding the burnt city and one of the com- 
missioners for rebuilding St. Paul's ; but from various 
circumstances, including a dread of the inevitably large 
expense, the work of clearing away the ruins of the old 
•cathedral, preparatory to laying the new foundation, was 
not begun until the spring of 16Y4. There was an old and 
generally credited trsLdition that the site of St. Paul's had 
been occupied in the time of the Romans by a temple to 
Diana. Wren maintained that the first sacred building on 
that spot had been a church built by the Christians under 
the Roman rule. When digging the foundation of his 
edifice, he found suflacient evidence of its Christian and 
none whatever of its Heathen origin and use. The build- 
ing had been repeatedly injured, even twice wholly de- 
stroyed by fire, from the time of its original erection to its 
last ruin, in 1666. 

The first stone of the present building was laid in June. 
21st, 1675 ; the choir was opened for divine worship in De- 
cember 2d, 1697 ; the whole edifice was completed (with 



St. Paul's Cathedral, 299 

the exception of some of the decorations, not finished until 
1123, the year of Wren's death) in lUO. 

Sir Christopher Wren, who was a man of considerable 
reputation, having been Savilian professor of geometry in 
the university of Oxford, before he was known as an archi- 
tect, was a bishop's nephew, as well as a dean's son, and 
far more religious than even many of the clergy in the 
reigns of the Stuart family, He has himself recorded in 
the "Parentalia," that "when the surveyor in person (him- 
self) had set out upon the place the dimensions of the 
great dome, and fixed upon the centre, a common laborer 
was ordered to bring a flat stone from the heaps of rubbish 
(such as should first come to hand), to be laid for a mark 
and direction to the masons ; the stone, which was immedi- 
ately brought and laid down for that purpose, happened to 
be a piece of a grave-stone, with nothing remaining of the 
inscription but this single word in large capitals — Resurgam 
(I shall rise again)." This incident seems to have deeply 
interested the architect, as may be judged from the decora- 
tions of the pediment over the northern portico, whereon 
is finely sculptured a phoenix rising from the flames, with 
the motto "Resurgam," — evidently placed in accordance 
with the idea suggested by the inscribed fragment of the 
grave-stone, taken from the rubbish so many years before. 
It is worthy of notice that Wren's salary as architect of 
St. Paul's was only one thousand dollars a year. The great 
cathedral was begun and completed under one architect 
Sir Christopher Wren ; one master mason, Mr. Thomas 
Strong ; while one bishop, Dr. Henry Compton, presided 
over the diocese. The total cost was £1,511,202, and this 
vast amount was paid for by a tax on coal brought into 
the city of London — a fact which possesses a poetic 
significance when you see the smoky coat in which the 
whole pile seems to be constantly mourning. St. Paul's is 
the cathedral church of the See of London, where divine 
service is performed daily at 8 A. M. in the chapel, and from 



300 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

half-past three to four o'clock p. m. in the choir. Since 
November 28th, 1858, an evening service has been performed 
on Sunday at 7 P. m., under the dome, the area affording 
room for three thousand persons seated. 

There is a fine view of London from the outer gallery at 
the apex of the dome, which you ascend by 616 steps, of 
which the first 260 are easy and well-lighted, but the re- 
mainder dirty, tiresome, and unpleasant. The three great 
cities of London, Westminster, and Southwark lie outspread 
at your feet ; the broad reaches of the Thames, covered with 
ships of all nations, and spanned by numerous bridges ; the 
distant extent of green country, miles away, in vivid contrast 
to the surrounding masses of stone and brick ; the streets 
crowded with carriages and foot-passengers, and all the 
evidences of a great metropolis, would " form a picture un- 
rivalled as it is magnificent," according to the guide-book, 
if you could get a clear day to enjoy it in ; but as the sun 
rarely shines upon London I did not undertake the task. 
How clifi'erent to one who mounts the dome of the Capitol 
at Washington, and gazes over the magnificent landscape, 
which, though barren of antiquarian associations, unoc- 
cupied by vast aristocratic establishments, uncrowded by 
sweltering, struggling, and almost starving millions, proffers 
a theme full of surpassing interest, and strong in the aspi- 
rations excited by the presence of an athletic and purified 
freedom. 

The monuments in St. Paul's are divided into two classes : 
monuments to illustrious men, made additionally interesting 
by costly works of art, and those exclusively so from the 
persons they commemorate. It may be said — in the expres- 
sive language of the Latin inscription over the entrance into 
the choir, the most noticeable part of the cathedral itself, 
" i/ you ask where his monument is, look around P^ — that 
Wren indeed has a monument, which makes the cold frigid- 
ities of most of the surrounding sculpture almost painful 
to contemplate. No one, standing under the respective 



Sl PauFs Cathedral, 301 

domes of St. Peter's in Rome, and St. Paul's in London, 
can avoid recollecting that Michael Angelo raised one and 
that Christopher Wren erected the other. Wren, who died 
at the ripe age of ninety, was appropriately interred in 
the crypt, or vaults, a solemn and mysterious-looking place, 
diml}^ lighted by occasional beams through a side windov^^ 
with a small iron grating. 

Temple Bar and the Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford are 
among Wren's earliest architectural works. While planning 
St. Paul's, two years after the Great Fire, he completely 
repaired the Cathedral of Salisbury, considered one of the 
finest among the ancient buildings of England ; planned and 
built the Military Hospital at Chelsea ; and erected, in the 
rebuilt city, those fifty churches which are still much es- 
teemed for their beauty. For the contrivance and super- 
intendence of St. Paul's, on which he was allowed only one 
assistant, he had a salary of £200 a year — one-half re- 
served until the completion of the work, as an incentive 
to industry. For all the other fifty churches which he 
planned and built in London he had £100 per annum. 
Later architects certainly have fared better, inasmuch as 
they usually have contrived — to pay themselves ! 

There are forty -four marble monuments, of more or less 
value, in St. Paul's. That of John Howard, the philanthro- 
pist, is appropriate enough, for it tells the history of a 
life in the simplest and most impressive manner, by the 
key in his hand, the chains at his feet, and the dungeon 
scene in the bas-relief of the base. Dr. Johnson is there, 
sculptured by Bacon, not as the author of " The Rambler " 
or the " Lives of the Poets," but as an ancient Stoic, with 
such a remarkable paucity of attire as to suggest the idea 
that the philosophers of the Porch must either have had 
no mosquitoes in Greece, or have been remarkably thick- 
skinned, seeing that their full dress was a state of semi- 
nudity. There is a noble statue of Sir Joshua Reynolds, 
by John Flaxman, with a medallion portrait of Michael 



302 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

Angelo on the pedestal, to which the English painter's 
fingers seem to point. Two Indian Bishops, Fanshawe 
Middleton and Reginald Heber, are honored in stone at 
St. Paul's : also Babington, the physician, and Sir William 
Jones, the linguist, translator, and poet. But the naval 
and military services have chiefly been honored in this 
Protestant Pantheon. Captain Faulkner, who fell in a 
naval engagement of five hours with a stronger French 
frigate than his own, is represented larger than life, as one 
of the old athletes — as if, like them, British sea-offlcers 
went naked into battle. The monument of Lord Colling- 
wood, Nelson's brave friend, by Westmacott, is better, but 
disfigured by introducing "old Father Thames," of gigan- 
tic size, in a recumbent posture, thoughtfully regarding 
Fame, who, from the prow of the ship, reclines over the re- 
mains of the gallant admiral, proclaiming his heroic deeds. 
In Chantrey's striking monument to General Houghton, 
who is shown in the act of rising to direct a last and 
successful charge, there is introduced the impertinence of 
a Victory who comes down to crown him. Abercrombie's 
monument is simple, and therefore affecting. Nelson's, by 
Flaxman, with the loss of the right arm nearly concealed by 
' the Union Jack, is striking, showing an English warrior in 
an English garb (the idea taken from our Benjamin West's 
"Death of General Wolfe"), and would be thoroughly good 
if Britannia and her two boys were absent. Under 
the dome is the grave of Lord Nelson himself, the sar- 
cophagus of which was made at the expense of Cardinal 
Wolsey, for the burial of Henry YIII., in the tomb- 
house at Windsor. The coffin which contains the body is 
made of a part of the mainmast of the ship L'Orient, and 
was a present to Nelson after the battle of the Nile. Nel- 
son appreciated the present, and for some time had it 
placed upright, with the lid on, behind his cabinet, and near 
the chair on which he sat at dinner. 

But in this subterranean funeral ground, the most inter- 



St. Paul's Cathedral, ';i^O'^ 

esting is the Wellington chapel, in the centre of which is 
placed the sarcophagus containing the mortal remains of 
the Great Duke. The sarcophagus is of porphyry of a rich 
reddish-brown color with yellow markings, placed on a 
base of light granite, each of the four corners being 
sculptured with a lion's head. On one side is inscribed 
" Arthur, Duke of Wellington ;" on the other side, " Born 
May 1, 1769 ; died September 14, 1852." Upon each end 
and upon the base is a heraldic cross, the outlines of which, 
as well as those of the inscription, is in gold, producing a 
very rich effect. In each angle of the chamber is a candel- 
abrum of highly-polished red granite, from which rise jets 
of gas to light the mausoleum. The funeral car which con- 
veyed the remains of the Duke of Wellington through the 
streets of London in 1852 is still carefully preserved. 
Effigies of the horses that drew this car, which is a combi- 
nation of funeral magnificence difficult to describe, are 
standing between the shafts, while all around are hung the 
heraldic coats-of-arms of the house of ''the Iron Duke," 
and banners upon which are inscribed the various battles 
in which he distinguished himself No character in English 
history promises to retain for a longer period the fervent 
respect of the English people than that of Wellington. 
The closer you get to it, the more you see of him, the 
better he seems to wear. He was peculiarly unselfish and 
single-hearted, and his magnanimity was that trait which 
never seemed to leave him. In whatever capacity he was 
employed, or consulted, he was actuated by one supreme 
feeling — tltat of honestly performing Ms duty. In the 
simplicity of his character and the firmness of his action 
he much resembled President Lincoln. He was perhaps 
more distinguished than any man for the eloquence of 
silence which gave to his words when uttered, rare value, 
and which made him an unconscious umpire before whose 
judgment the wisest could yield without loss of dignity. 



304 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 



LY.— THE REFOEM BILL. 

HOW THE ROYAL ASSENT IS GIVEN — A MEANS TO A GREAT END 
— SUBSERVIENCY OF THE MIDDLE CLASS — POWER OF THE 
ARISTOCRACY^CARLYLE'S political APOSTASY. 

London, August 16, 1867. 

The Eeform bill is now an Engiish statute, the Queen 
having given her consent, which was done according to 
the old forms yesterday. The process is very different 
from ours. Our President communicates his action 
upon the bills of Congress through his private secretary, 
but here a deputation from Commons has to appear 
at the bar of the House of Lords, where the royal as- 
sent or dissent is given with a great deal of ceremony, 
through the medium of several Lord Commissioners. On 
yesterday, the Commons having been summoned to the 
Lords, the Speaker of that body, accompanied by about 
forty members, headed \>j Mr. Disraeli, Ministerial leader 
of the House, attended at the bar of the Lords, where the 
roj^al assent was announced to a number of bills, among 
which was that which has been the cause of so much ex- 
citement and the almost complete revolution of the old sj^s- 
tem of representation, and which, however considered, must 
ultimately effect a complete revolution in political parties, 
if not in the political condition of Great Britain. It is by 
no means a measure of full reform, but it is the beginning 
of the reign of the people, and the beginning of the end of 
the aristocrac}^ There will, indeed, be many defeats be- 
fore the concessions in this bill are realized, because the 
middle classes of England are still the courtiers of the 
nobility and the enemies of what are called ''the lower 
classes j " a condition of things resulting from many causes. 



The Reform Bill, 305 

"b^it chiefly from the desire of fortunate merchants, land- 
owners, manufacturers, and capitalists, to secure a place in 
what is called " good society." The aristocracy, aware of 
this weakness, flatter it by occasionally admitting one of 
the middle station into their charmed circle ; never stop- 
ping, meanwhile, in the labor of widening the breach be- 
tween those who, once united, will completely control the 
government. As long as this breach exists, no Reform bill 
can work any genuine benefit. It is pitiable to see how 
the English fawn upon the comparative few who, by the 
mere accident of birth, still largely wield the destinies of 
the country, and it is interesting to note how these few 
employ their power and tantalize the aspirants for their 
smiles. 

The subserviency of the middle classes is the strength of 
the upper. It penetrates everywhere, and poisons as it 
penetrates. It is the cause of a multitude of evils, not the 
least of which is the fact that it makes the nobility arrogant, 
exclusive, and generally insensible to all magnanimity on 
political questions. Reform will only begin when the con- 
trolling masses of the English people cease to be led by 
vanity or prejudice, and realize that there is as much true 
gentility among themselves as among those they have al- 
lowed to govern them. The apprehension that that day is 
not far distant is not concealed by the Tories, and many 
do not hesitate to say that the Reform bill is the precursor 
of a democratic government in England. 

Of this class the bitter and eccentric Thomas Carlyle is 
a fair type. This old man, spoiled by the admiration that 
has rewarded his efforts to torture and mutilate the 
English language, long ago dropped all affection for his 
race, and is now as abject a toady and tuft-hunter as you 
can find. The last number of Macmillan^s Magazine con- 
tains an article from his pen, called '' Shooting Niagara : 
and After ? " intended to show to the aristocracy that the 
Reform bill has carried them into the abyss of Socialism, 



3o6 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

and that the cousequences will be the sure triumph of the 
democratic principle. It is a characteristic performance, 
and has been much noticed by the papers. Full of abuse 
of the negro, the Abolitionists, the United States, and Mr. 
Bright, it is as disgusting a tirade against popular govern- 
ment as the extremest monarchist could desire. 

That such wretched stufl' should have imposed upon men 
of common sense as good doctrine, much less good writ- 
ing, only shows what fashion will do. This tragic shriek 
against the Keform bill, however, proves that the Tories 
begin to see that the day of minorities governing the mil- 
lions must soon be over, even in England. No intelligent 
observer doubts that the upheaval of old systems on the 
Continent is at hand, and that when it comes it will make 
clean work, and build good governments as successfully as 
it has remorselessly torn down and broken up bad ones. 



LVI.— THE TOWEE OF LONDON. 

JULIUS CiESAR AND WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR — TRAITOR'S 
GATE — THE BLOODY TOWER — BELL TOWER — AVHITE TOWER — 

RALEIGH'S CELL BEAUCHAMP AND BOWYER TOWERS — 

HORSE ARMORY QUEEN ELIZABETH'S ARMORY — THE CROAVN 

JEWELS — ROYAL AND NOBLE VICTIMS — FORTRESS, PALACE, 
AND PRISON — LESSONS FROM THE PAST— ILLUSTRIOUS IN- 
MATES — TOW'ER HILL — THE TOWER RESTORED — WILLIAM 
PENN. 

London, August 17, 1867. 

The tower of London is one of those objects which never 
lose their interest, and therefore, when w^e bought our tick- 
ets at the Lion's Gate, we were not surprised to find a 
number of persons waiting to be escorted through its 



The Tower of London, 307 

antique and storied passages. Founded, according to some 
writers, by William the Conqueror, in 1078, Shakspeare, in 
the first scene of the third act of E^ichard the Third, makes 
Gloster say that Julius Caesar built it, and certainly its 
appearance indicates that it had a very ancient origin. 
The passage in Shakspeare runs thus : 

Prince Ed. I do not like the Tower, of any 'place. 

Did Julius Caesar build that place, my lord ? 
Buck, He did, my gracious lord, begin that place, 

Which since succeeding ages have re-edified. 
Prince Ed. Is it upon record, or else reported 

Successively from age to age, he built it ? 
Buck. Upon record, my gracious lord. 

Fitz-Stephen, who died in 1191, thus described this 
ancient place: "It (London) hath on the east part a 
Tower Palatine, very large and very strong, whose court 
and walls rise up 'from a deep foundation. The mortar is 
tempered with the blood of beasts." There is no real con- 
nection between the old monk's blood-tempered mortar, 
and the actual subsequent history of the Tavv^er of London. 
Yet, when that history comes before us, when we enter the 
grim old edifice, it does not seem unnatural or incredible 
that the very foundations of those massive walls should be 
laid in blood. 

The guides or warders, old soldiers appointed on account 
of good services, wear the yeoman costume of the time of 
King Henry YIII. These '' Beef-eaters" repeat the same tale 
day after day, to different crowds, in monotonous and hum- 
drum tones, made almost unintelligible to us, spoken as 
they are in the peculiar dialect of the English lower classes ; 
and if it had not been for an intelligent friend who had 
previously visited the place, we should not have been much 
enlightened by the confused manner in which our aged 
usher hurried through his task. The present Lieutenant- 
Governor is Lieutenant-General Lord de Ros, whose " His- 
torical Memoirs of the Tower," published last year, are 



3o8 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

more in the sliape of essays than of delineations. He who 
desires thoroughly to understand the history and the de- 
tails of the place, should take care first to provide himself 
with one of the printed official guides or hand-books to be 
purchased at the door. 

Talking of the different historians of the Tower, we 
were struck with the remark of our old soldier as he car- 
ried us on, that the novels of William Harrison Ainsworth, 
based upon this venerable fortress, were very correct, and 
deserved to be read by everybody, a hint which sounded 
vastly like a friendly advertisement. 

The fortress covers twelve acres of ground, and is sur- 
rounded by a moat, which, since 1843, has been used as a 
garden. On the water side is the celebrated Traitor's Gate, 
now approached from the Thames, through which prisoners 
of State were conveyed in boats in the olden time : 

"That gate through which before 
Went Sidney, Russell, Raleigh, Cranmer, More," 

names planted in every school-bo3^'s memor}', and here re- 
vived in all their sad significance. Nearly opposite to the 
Traitor's Gate is the Bloody Tower, so called, because 
within it took place the murder of the young Princes, 
Edward the Fifth and the Duke of York, sons of Edward 
the Fourth, by order of Richard the Third, a deed in Eng- 
lish history doubted by some, but very distinctl}^ asserted 
and proved b}^ the governor of the place. Lord de Ros, 
in one of his late essays. He says that " two children's 
bodies, corresponding in age and period of decay with the 
date of the murder, were discovered in Charles the Second's 
time by some workmen at the foot of a staircase about 
seventy j^ards from the Blood}^ Tower, and that these were 
the bones of the Princes." Passing beneath the portcullis 
which still hangs over the gateway of the Blood}^ Tower, 
you enter the Inner Bail. In the corner of the square on 
the left is the governor's lodging in the Bell Tower, not 



The Tower of London* 309 

shown to the public. This was the prison of Queen Eliza- 
beth, who was a captive at the time Lady Jane Grey was 
in the Brick Tower, soon after the accession of "bloody 
Mary.'' This lodging contains the council chamber in 
which Guy Fawkes and the Romish priests concerned in 
the ''' Gunpowder Plot " were examined on the order of 
King James by the Lords, with application of torture. 

The oldest portion, of the edifice, the'White Tower, was 
believed to have been built in 10Y8 by Gundulph, Bishop 
of Rochester, by command of William the Conqueror, and 
was refaced and modernized but not improved by Wren. 
It is the Keep or nucleus of this palatial fortress, but suc- 
cessive changes have weeded out every original feature. 
Only the general form and those of the windows remain 
ancient ; every thing except the plain surfaces has been 
remodelled. The outer walls are from ten to twelve feet 
and the interior walls seven feet thick. A winding stair at 
the corner, at the foot of which the bones of the murdered 
Princes were found, leads to the chapel of St. John, long 
used, as well as the other chambers, to hold records ; now 
laid open. It is one of the best preserved and oldest speci- 
mens of the early Norman style in England. Underneath' 
is a vault, surrounded by walls seventeen feet thick, sup- 
porting the whole width of the chapel aisle, and is the 
" strong room '' of the fortress. In the thickness of one 
of the walls is a small, dark dungeon, bearing the name of 
Sir Walter Raleigh, vfho was imprisoned in it. The Ban- 
queting Hall and Council Chamber adjoining have flat tim- 
ber roofs, supported on stout joists. Here are preserved 
sixty thousand stand of modern rifles, beautifully polished 
and arranged, adding a still more warlike appearance to 
this military stronghold. The Beauchamp Tower, on the 
west side, was the place of imprisonment of Anne Boleyn 
and Lady Jane Grey, and the name of the latter appears 
cut on the wall. The Bowyer Tower on the north side, 
where the Duke of Clarence, according to tradition, was 



3IO Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

drowned in a butt of Malmsey, and the Martin Tower, 
near the Jewel House, are in the same division. 

The Horse Armory, built in 1826, is an extensive gallery, 
150 feet long by 33 feet wide, and embodies a sort of 
equestrian history of England. There are twenty-two fig- 
ures on horseback, clothed in the armor of various reigns, 
from the time of Edward the First to James the Second, 
or from 1272tolS88. There is a Saracen suit, the oldest 
in the collection, being prior to the time of Edward the 
First, the greatest of the Plantagenets, and also a helmet 
and other arms of Tippoo Saib. Each suit is assigned, in 
order of chronology, to some king or knight, so that you 
have the reign or age illustrated in the prevalent and pecu- 
liar military uniform. For instance, you see the time of 
Edward the First in the hauberk with sleeves and chausses, 
and hood with camail and prick-spurs, while that of the 
time of Henry the Sixth is recalled in the flexible back 
and breast-plates, the sleeves and shirt of chain mail, the 
fluted gauntlets, the helmet armed with a frontlet and sur- 
mounted by a crest. You are thus carried through the 
centuiies down to the reign of James the Second, and then 
to It to by a Maltese cannon of exquisite workmanship, 
taken by the French in 1798, and while on its passage from 
Malta to Paris cai)tured by Captain Foote of the English 
Seahorse frigate. The caparisoned horses and arms of the 
warriors, their banners and other insignia, make this a 
pleasant way to read history, and rivet the past on the 
mind. 

You enter Queen Elizabeth's armory (the small room 
under St. John's Chapel) from this interesting gallery, by 
a staircase and ante-chamber filled with oriental weapons, 
taken in the East Indian campaigns, and other strange 
relics aiyi mementos. Here is the "iron collar of tor- 
ment," one of the spoils of the Spanish Armada, in 1588, 
and "'the cravat," or ''scaA^enger's daughter," an instru- 
ment for confining at once the head, hands and feet. They 



The Tower of London, 311 

are said to have been used in the instance of the Earl of 
Essex, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth; the block on 
which Lord Lovat (the last man beheaded in England) 
was executed in 1H6; and the cloak in which General 
Wolfe died before Quebec ; with other similar relics. On 
the south side of the White Tower are several interesting 
remains of early artillery, among which I noticed a revolver, 
proving that that great weapon was not so much of an in- 
vention after all, though made practical by our Connecti- 
cut Colt. 

But the Jewel House, containing all the crown jewels of 
England, is the centre of attraction to the ladies, and 
those in our party were soon engaged in studying these 
treasures, which are estimated at an almost fabulous sum. 
The treasures constituting the Regalia are arranged in a 
glazed iron cage in the centre of a well-lighted room, of 
modern erection, with an ample passage for visitors to 
walk around. Here is the crown made for the coronation 
of Queen Yictoria, and costing $600,000 ; the Prince of 
Wales' crown of pure gold, unadorned by jewels; the 
Queen Consort's crown set with diamonds and pearls ; the 
Queen's diadem or circlet of gold, made for the coronation 
of Marie d'Este, second Queen of James the Second ; St. 
Edward's staff of beaten gold, four feet seven inches in 
length, surmounted by an orb and cross, and shod with a 
steel spike ; the royal sceptre of gold, two feet nine inches 
in length, the staff plain, the pommel ornamented with 
rubies, emeralds, and diamonds. The coronation spoon 
and bracelets, the royal spurs, and the swords of Mercy 
and Justice are preserved in this collection. Here, too, is 
the silver-gilt baptismal font, in which, when used, is 
deposited the baptismal water for the royal children, and 
the Koh-i-noor diamond, the property of Queen Victoria, 
and one of the most attractive objects on exhibition at 
Hyde Park in 1851. 

Of the Wellington Barracks, St. Peter's, the Church of 

20 



312 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

the Liberty of the Tower, and' other interesting features, I 
have no room to speak ; but I could not refrain from think- 
ing of the eminent and innocent victims of persecution and 
hatred, interred in the Church of St. Peter ad Yincula, 
which belongs to the Tower, and here beheaded. We saw 
where Anne Boleyn, once the favorite of bluff King Hal, 
was imprisoned, and the court-yard where she was exe- 
cuted. We read at the same time the words of Bishop Bur- 
nett, that " her body was thrown into a common chest of 
elm tree that was made to put arrows in, and buried in the 
chapel of the Tower before twelve o'clock." Here also was 
beheaded Queen Katherine Howard, another of the wives 
of Henry YIII. ; Sir Thomas More ; Cromwell, Earl of 
Esses ; Margaret, Countess of Salisbury ; Thomas Lord 
Seymour, by order of his brother, the Protector Somerset ; 
Lord Somerset himself; John Dudley, Earl of Warwick; 
Lady Jane Grey and Lord Guilford Dadley, her husband ; 
Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex; Sir Thomas Overbury, 
poisoned and buried in the Tower ; the Duke of Monmouth, 
executed by his uncle, James II. ; and many more. 

Y'ou are not only standing in the midst of the monu- 
ments of ignorance, cruelty, and oppression, as these are 
exhibited in the wanton sacrifice of human life, but you are 
reminded of the startling difference between the days in 
which such wrongs were committed and the triumphs of a 
higher civilization, when Englishmen, however proud of all 
that is honorable in the past, do not hesitate to labor for a 
better condition of things in the future. The Tower is in- 
deed a wonderful depository. It was the Palace of the 
English kings even down to the reign of Elizabeth. Here, 
in the White Tower, then used as a council chamber, oc- 
curred great events of English history. Here, Edward the 
First, whom the best historical authorities have declared 
to have been the greatest prince of the House of Plan- 
tagenet, and the founder of the English Constitution, wit- 
nessed certain experiments made by Raj^mond Lully, the 



The Tower of London. 3 13 

alchemist, by wMcli lie appeared to convert common crj^stal 
into a mass of diamonds, for which the plausible charlatan 
received a great fee in gold from the admiring monarch, 
who largely clung to the credulity of the time. Here, 
Richard the Second resigned his throne to Bolingbroke, 
who, as Henry lY., has been so forcibly drawn by Shak- 
speare. Here, subtle Gloucester bared his arm before the 
assembled council, accused Hastings of having withered it 
by sorcery, swore he would not dine until his enemy was 
dead, and within the hour sent him to the block in the ad- 
joining court. Here, for nearly five centuries, jnonarchs 
revelled and reigned, lived in state and pomp, and prepared 
for their state ceremonials. Here, Charles the Second was 
dressed for his coronation. Here, under the royal eye, was 
the Mint, now removed to Tower Hill, the monarch claim- 
ing the right to have the issue of coin under his own nomi- 
nal superintendence. Here, as another adjunct of royalty, 
was the menagerie — the Lion's Tower — receiving its title 
from three leopards kept by Henry III., and introduced by 
him into the heraldic arms of England ; and, even within 
living memory, 'Hhe Lions of the Tower," since trans- 
ferred to the Zoological Gardens in Regent's Park, were 
the objects of infinite curiosity, every country cousin who 
came to London making a point of visiting them. 

There are solemn lessons to be learned at the Tower, by 
those who care to apply them. Not only in those that per- 
ished, but in those that were confined here do we read the 
sad story of human injustice and crime. The Tower, for 
many centuries, has been the great State Prison of England. 
Kings, queens, statesmen, patriots, philosophers, poets, 
martyrs form an almost unbroken line of illustrious cap- 
tives for five or six centuries. In almost every great event 
of English history this terrible edifice looms in the dis- 
tance. There is scarcely one ancient family of distinction 
in England to which the Tower has not bequeathed some 
fearful and ghastly memories. Among the earliest captives 



314 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

whose names are recorded were Ralph Flambard and Hu- 
Ibert de Burgh, respectively ministers of William Rufus 
and Henry the Third. Here, in the time of the First Ed- 
ward, Baliol, the Scottish King, and the flower of his 
nobility were held in durance vile, and a little later, Wal- 
I lace, who is still reverenced by the North Britons for the 
patriotism and gallantry which deserved a better fate than 
a cruel death with many aggravating circumstances of in- 
famous barbarity. Here, Edward the Second detained 
Lord Mortimer and several of the Barons, which led to his 
own death and Mortimer's execution. Here, King David 
Bruce, captured by Edward the Third at the battle of Ne- 
ville's Cross, endured eleven years imprisonment, and then 
had to buy his liberation at a great price. Here, after the 
victory at Poictiers, John, King of France, with four princes 
of the blood, eight earls, and a number of lower but still 
important personages, made prisoners by the Black Prince, 
were kept in strict confinement ; the King, soon after, being 
transferred to the Savoy (the chapel of which palace is 
to be seen at the foot of Waterloo Bridge), though he was 
not liberated, on paying a heavy ransom, for over three 
years. Here, Geoffrey Chaucer, the father of English poetry, 
was confined for three years as a fierce WickliflSte, during 
which he wrote his prose work, " The Testament of Love." 
Here, the Earl of Huntingdon, Bolingbroke's brother-in- 
law, was a prisoner for the few hours which immediately 
preceded his execution, without trial, on a charge of trea- 
son. Here, at several different periods, the son of Owen 
Glendower, and James the First, of Scotland, poet as well 
as King, were imprisoned. Here, Lord Cobham, leader of 
the Lollards, was in chains, tried and convicted of heresy, 
condemned to the flames, escaped from his bonds, was re- 
captured four years later, and burnt to death for his relig- 
ious opinions. Charles of Orleans, a well-known French 
poet and prince, wilh his brother John, Count of Angou- 
leme, were also imprisoned in the Tower. Here, Hcnrj^ 



The Tower of London, 315 

TT., as well as two of his predecessors (Edward II. and 
Richard II.), were held in captivity, and, history reports, 
secretly murdered, the last-named in Pontefract Castle. 
Here, Owen Tudor, grandfather of Henry the Seventh, — 
that Earl of Richmond who won the day on Bosworth Field, 
— was confined on a charge of conspiring with a witch to 
destroy the King's life. The wars of the Roses filled the 
Tower with a succession of distinguished captives. Clar- 
ence, brother of Edward the Fourth, was reported to have 
been drowned in a butt of malmsey, his favorite liquor. 
The poet Surrey, Perkin Warbeck, the Sir William Stanley 
who helped to crown Richmond on Bosworth Field, and 
King Henry's two ministers, Empson and Dudlej^, were 
unwilling state-guests, and quitted its walls only for the 
scaffold. Henry the Eighth, besides sending hither two of 
his queens, Anna Boleyn and Katherine Howard, also 
committed numerous other persons to the Tower — most of 
them to perish under the axe, as these women did. Among 
these were Sir Thomas More, Bishop Fisher, and the Duke 
of Buckingham. The attempt, on the death of Edward the* 
Sixth, to place the crown upon the head of Lady Jane Grey, 
filled the Tower with inmates, and so did Wyatt's insurrec- 
tion, a short time after. In Elizabeth's reign the gloomy 
prison-fortress had its usual quota of state-prisoners — one 
of them, confined in the Beauchamp Tower, was Robert 
Dudley, afterwards known as the Earl of Leicester, who 
was the Queen's unworthy favorite in later years, when he 
gave her that world-famed reception and entertainment at 
Kenilworth, which Scott has so brilliantly brought before 
us in his novel. Elizabeth herself had been a prisoner in 
the Tower, which she entered through the Traitor's Gate, 
which opened for Anna Boleyn, her mother. Here Sir 
Walter Raleigh was three times a prisoner, pnce in the 
reign of Queen Elizabeth, on account of his marriage, and 
twice in the reign of King James, where he began his His- 
tory of the World, where he amused himself with chemical 



3 1 6 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

experiments, and where his son, Carew Raleigh, was horn. 
We were shown the dark, unlighted cell or cave in which 
he spent most of these j^ears and performed most of his 
labors. Here, during the reign of the Stuarts, many pris- 
oners were received : Lady Arabella Stuart and her hus- 
band, Mr. William Seymour, afterwards Duke of Somerset ; 
the Earl of Straftbrd ; Archbishop Laud ; Henry Martin ; 
Monk (afterwards Duke of Albemarle, for having etfected 
the Restoration) ; Sir John Eliot ; the Earl of Stratford ; 
Felton, who assassinated the first Duke of Buckmgham, 
and, later, the second Duke himself; the Earl of Shaftes- 
bury ; Algernon S3'dney, and Lord William Russell, in 
the reign of Charles II. ; the Duke of Monmouth, and the 
seven Bishops, in that of James II. ; Harley, Earl of Ox- 
ford, and William Shippen, a member of Parliament, for 
sajing, in the House of Commons, of a speech from the 
throne of George I., "that the second paragraph of the 
King's speech seemed rather to be calculated for the meri- 
dian of Germany than Great Britain;" Lords Lovat, Kil- 
marnock, Balmeriuo, Derwentwater, and other adherents 
of "the Pretender," in 1746-1 ; John Wilkes, Lord George 
Gordon, Messrs. Home Tooke, Thelwall and Hard3^ and 
Sir Francis Burdett. in the reign of George III. : and the 
Cato street conspirators, in that of George lY. There has 
not been any state-prisoner in the Tower in the time of 
William lY. and Queen Yictoria, and, indeed, the death- 
doom for treason, unaccompanied by bloodshed, is virtu- 
ally abolished in England, as it legally was repealed in 
France, in 1831. 

The high ground outside of the Tower, called Tower Hill, 
is the spot upon which, until within the last one hundred 
and fifty years, stood a large scaffold for the execution of 
traitors and transgressors. The motto to be inscribed OA'er 
the Tower gntewaj^ might be that which Dante declares to 
have been written over the infernal portals. — Renounce all 
hope who enter here. On Tower Hill were executed Sir 



The Tower of London. 317 

Thomas More, 1535; the Earl of Surrey, 1541; Thomas 
Lord Seymour, the Admiral, beheaded, 1549, by order of 
his bi'other, the Protector Somerset ; the Protector Somer- 
set himself in 1552; the Earl of Strafford, 1641; Arch- 
bishop Laud in 1644 ; Sir Henry Yane, the younger, 1662 ; 
Yiscount Stafford in 1680, convicted on the perjured evi- 
dence of Titus Gates and others; Algernon Sydney, 1683, 
Duke of Monmouth, 1685; and Simon Lord Lovat, 1*747, 
not only the last person beheaded on Tower Hill, but the 
last person beheaded in England. 

A list of all the victims of tyranny, caprice, envy, ava- 
rice, cruelty, lust, revenge, and other vile passions, would 
fill more space than I care to occupy with such shameful, 
saddening records of power misused. But, under every 
circumstance, it must be conceded that no public building 
in England brings back so many memories and associations 
of the past as does this old Tower of London True it is, 
that recollection is busy as 3"ou make the tour of Westmin- 
ster Abbey, pausing longest in the Poet's Corner, wherein 
are crowded tangible memorials and monuments of the 
illustrious dead. The Palace of Westminster, scarcel^^ yet 
completed and confessedly inadequate for the main purpose 
(that of legislating in) for which it is erected, is gorgeous 
but new. The Royal Exchange of London is also new 
and does not bring back many memories of the time when 
Sir Thomas Gresham, a merchant prince, erected a bourse 
in London, after the model of that of Antwerp, and pre- 
sented it to his fellow-citizens. Queen Elizabeth herself not 
disdaining to attend in person and bestow on it the name 
of "■ The Royal Exchange." But that original building was 
destroyed by the great fire of London, two centuries ago, 
and its successor, opened in September, 1669, was also 
burned down in January, 1888. St. Paul's Cathedral, grand 
as it is, has not been com^^leted quite one hundred and fifty 
years. On the contrary, the Tower of London is one of 
the most ancient edifices in England, for though Caesar may 



3 1 8 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

liave built one of its towers, there certainly existed some- 
thing like a fortress on its site, long before lih time. , As a 
fortress, a palace, and a prison, the Tower of London will 
ever be visited with interest. It may be said tangibly to 
realize British history 

There was a great fire in the Tower, on October SO, 1841, 
by which the old armory and 200,000 stand of arms were 
destroyed. It was then suggested, but not acted upon, 
that it would be wise for the Government to sweep away 
all that encumbers and destroys the edifice, and restore it 
to what it had been at some given period of British history — 
say in the time of Richard II. — or to let people see, as far as 
possible, what royal state was three, four, or five centuries 
ago. In the White Tower, one room could be fitted up as 
in the days of Henry III. ; another as in the times of the 
wars of the Roses ; and another as in the reigns of Mary 
and Elizabeth. "The Queen's Garden" of 1599 to be re- 
stored ; the ancient courts, upon which are now crowded 
mean buildings, to be formed again, to show how power was 
obliged to hem itself round with defences, how its com- 
monest recreations were mingled with fears and jealousies, 
which could never be removed till constitutional govern- 
ment was firmly established. To restore the Mint, the 
actual coining of money within the Tower would be incon- 
venient, but one of the old towers might be fitted up for 
the display of the implements in the manufacture of 
money, and for the exhibition of British coins and medals, 
from the Saxon penny to the marriage token of the Princess 
of Wales. The opportunity of such restoration was lost, 
and the buildings which supplied the burnt armory, and 
were completed in 1850, are as common-place as an ordi- 
nary bonded Ayarehouse, and so entirely modern as to be 
quite out of character with the venerable Tower to which 
they are clumsily appended. 

There was not a spot I visited in England which did not 
recall my native State, Pennsylvania, either in the names, 



Thames Tunnel, 319 

the manners, or the religion of the people. A thousand 
things heretofore unaccountable, happening in every com- 
munity, and almost in every household "at home," have 
been explained during my observations. After passing out 
of the door the veteran yeoman, our guide, who knew that 
we were Americans, discovering that we came from Penn- 
sylvania, reminded us that William Penn, the founder of 
our Commonwealth, was born in 1644, near Tower Hill, 
within a court adjoining London Wall. The empire which 
he planted in his prime of life has not yet completed the 
second centuTy of its existence, and j^et there is not a dis- 
trict in Europe in which the substantial arts are more suc- 
cessfully cultivated, the blessings of civilization more 
equally diffused, and the hai^piness and liberty of men so 
completely secured. 



LVIL—THAMES TUNNELo 

SUNDAY IN LONDON — A ROUND OF VISITS — UNDERGROUND RAIL- 
ROAD— -THAMES TUNNEL — INFERIOR RIVER STEAMBOATS 

BILLINGSGATE — A FOREST OF MASTS — TUNNEL TURRETS — 
THE TEREDO NAVALIS — THE TUNNEL PROJECTED BY BRUNEL 
— PRECEDING FAILURES — THE OBJECT — PROCESS AND PRO- 
GRESS OF EXECUTION — COMPLETION OP THE WORK — COST 

ANECD OTE S — DESCRIPTION. 

London, August 18, 1867. 

This, a warm Sunday in London, is probably a very hot 
one in Philadelphia, and I cannot help thinking of the 
hundreds and thousands of my fellow-creatures at home 
still cruelly deprived of those facilities of cheaj) and pleas- 
ant travel enjoyed in nearly every other city of our own 
and foreign countries. I will not cite the profligate ex- 



320 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

ample of Paris, where the Sabbath is a day of revelry 
instead of rest, nor even of those Continental capitals 
which have no higher ambition than to imitate Paris. But, 
if any stronger argument were asked than the simple {act 
that the population of Philadelphia would be immensely 
benefited by the enjoyment of these facihties, let us take 
the example of London. I have only now returned from 
another ride over the underground railroad, after an inter- 
esting inspection of the celebrated '' Rag Fair," in Hounds- 
ditch, the Jews' quarter of Old London, the Friends' 
Meeting-house in the same section, the great Wesleyan Cen- 
tenary building, the Greek Church, and the gorgeous new 
station of the North London Railway, just finished at an 
expense of millions of dollars. Of " Ragged Fair," to enter 
which every one, Jew and Gentile, must pay a fee of one 
halfpenny, I need not speak in detail, but it was worth 
noting that the Hebrew Sabbath was not prohibited in 
Protestant London, and that the proscribed race which 
has given some of the ablest oi;jators, poets, and statesmen 
to civilization, and which is powerfully represented in all 
the liberal parliaments of Europe, maintained its peculiar 
tenets and prosecuted its peculiar trade side by side with 
the leading establishments of the London quarters, within 
a stone's throw of the chief dissenting organization which 
is making such heavy inroads into the Church of England, 
and almost next door to the Roman Catholic and Greek 
temples. All these churches were crowded, and the great 
body of the worshippers had reached them by omnibus and 
the underground railroad. 

These lines run regularly and always full, the only ex- 
ceptions being that the railroads stop from eleven A. m. 
to one p. M., or during divine service. You will recollect 
that while we were imploring the courts and the Legisla- 
ture of Pennsylvania to allow the cars to run on the city 
railroads on Sunday, it was proposed to suspend travel 
during church hours, but nothing could induce the over- 



Thames Tunnel, 321 

pious opposition to yield. The underground railroad com- 
pany issue tickets for th^ use of the working classes at one 
shilling or twenty-five cents a week, including Sundays, 
which entitles one person to a daily ride to and from his 
home. The effect has been to warrant the erection of 
cheaper lodging houses for the laboring people on the out- 
skirts of the city, and of course to improve the general 
health by breaking up those close and filthy " stews " and 
*' mews " where so many have suffered and pined away in 
former years. If Sunday travel were stopped in London, 
it would breed a riot. The most earnest protests would 
come from the dissenters and their great preachers, — Hall, 
Spurgeon, Binney, and Conway, whose immense taber- 
nacles would be empty in bad weather, and hundreds pre- 
vented from hearing the Word of that God who never 
designed that his creatures should be denied light and air 
on the Sabbath day When I told one of the dissenting 
leaders that Philadelphia, with streets seven and eight 
miles long, leading from b(^ow the Navy Yard to beyond 
Richmond, had neither omnibuses nor railroad cars for 
public use on Sunday, he was amazed; and when I added 
that for advocating the use of these indispensable con- 
veniences on that day I was denounced by a number of 
clergymen, most of them Presbyterians, he said that they 
took an odd way of showing their Christianity " Why, 
sir," he said, " if the poor people of London could not ride 
out on Sunday, there would be twenty funerals where there 
is now but one." The underground railroad is the poor 
man's preferred conveyance ; and it is a most profitable 
improvement. 

The Thames Tuunel, which, wonderful as it is, has been 
a great loss to its projectors, owing to the fact that it must 
be reached by a steep and tiresome stairway, has been 
purchased, and is soon to be added to the subterranean 
line. It will cost an immense sum to prepare that line 
for travel, owing to the great number of houses that must 



322 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

be levelled and paid for to open the way; but, once 
finished, it will produce an endless harvest of profit. 1 saw 
this remarkable work of human ingenuity on the day before 
yesterday for the first time, and was surprised to find so 
few persons enjoying its safe and pleasant walks. 

A foreigner whom I met on the cars in Germany ex- 
pressed his surprise that I had not visited the Thames 
Tunnel when I was in London, assuring nae that visitors 
from the Continent rarely allowed many hours to pass 
without gratifying their curiosity, for it is generally con- 
sidered b}^ strangers to be the eighth wonder of the world. 
I have not been disappointed now that I have seen it, and 
shall endeavor to communicate what I have learned of the 
history of its construction, its destined purpose, its projec- 
tor, its vicissitudes, its cost, and its appearance. 

The best way to reach the Tunnel is to go to London 
Bridge, where it is at once to be noticed that the steam- 
boats plying thence down the river are much better than 
those which pass ''between tjie bridges," as the journey 
from London to Westminster is usually designated. They 
are by no means so good as the ordinary steamboats on 
the Delaware and Hudson-river ferries, and not to be 
named on the same day with the floating palaces on the 
Hudson, between New York and Albany. 

A little below London Bridge, on the left or north bank 
of the Thames, is Billingsgate, the great metropolitan fish- 
market. Further on, upon the same side, is the Custom 
House, a very unimposing building, beyond which, in 
gloomy grandeur, stands the Tower of London, ^"'he 
Thames is literally so crowded with hundreds upon hun- 
dreds of ships from all parts of the world, that onl_y a 
comparatively narrow channel is left for the usual and ne- 
cessary traffic of steamers, barges, and boats. An immense 
fleet of colliers from the north of England indicate one 
source of the vast revenue belonging to the Corporation of 
the City of London, there being a local tax upon every 



Thames Tunnel, 323 

ton of coal brought into London, sea-ward. What must 
be the consumption in a damp climate by a population of 
over three millions ? Better for England than the dia- 
monds of Golconda or Peru, the gold of California or Aus- 
tralia, is the dull, dusky, dirty produce of her immense 
coal-mines. They have made her a great manufacturing 
power. 

Below the Tower, on the left bank of the Thames, stands 
a plump, turret-shaped building of gray stone. Right op- 
posite, on the Surrey side of the river,, is another stump}^ 
tower. They are said to resemble the donjon-keeps of 
some old fortress in uj^per Austria. These turrets are the 
respective gates of the renowned Thames Tunnel, con- 
structed by the late Sir Isambert Brunei, a Frenchman, 
wiio made a good living as architect and engineer in New 
York city, towards the close of the last century, but 
finally settled in England, where he made reputation and 
fortune by inventing machinery for cutting the blocks used 
in the rigging of ships. While he was employed at Chat- 
ham, perfecting his marine inventions, he heard of an at- 
tempt which had been unsuccessfully made to tunnel the 
Thames, and expressed a belief in the practicability of 
such a scheme. In the year 1814, he observed that part of 
the keel of a vessel which had been sawn longitudinally 
exposed to view the perforations of a sea-worm, commonly 
known as the " Teredo Navalis." Each insect, he noticed, 
had made a small tunnel, and found, on examination, that 
its auger-shaped head had bored through the wood, — that 
when the excavation was effected, the sides were secured 
and rendered impervious to water by a calcareous secre- 
tion with which the insect lined its passage, — and that too 
near an approach to the water had been carefully avoided. 
On these principles he invented a large iron " teredo " with 
which to form a subaqueous tunnel, and finally cut such 
a tunnel under the Thames. 

Not until the year 1823 did Brunei, then fiftj^-four years 



324 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

old, apply himself to form a company for accomplishing 
this purpose. It was no new design, for, exactly twenty- 
five years before, an engineer named Ralph Dodd had pro- 
posed to tunnel the Thames from Gravesend to the opposite 
shore in Essex, where the river is very broad, but all the 
funds that had been collected were spent in trying to sink 
the shaft. Seven j^ears later (in 1805), an Act of Parlia- 
ment was obtained to incorporate the " Thames Archway 
Company," for the purpose of forming an archway or tun- 
nel under the Thames ; and a shaft, 315 feet from the river, 
was sunk at Limehouse, from which the excavation began, 
but it was found impossible to carry on the work through 
sand and water. After this Mr. Trevithick (the engineer, 
who, as earl}^ as the year 1802, took out the first patent 
for a steam-carriage to travel on common roads, and 
subsequently tried to make it run on an iron-way), who 
had superintended the works in the last experiment, sunk 
a shaft on the Surrey side, from which he carried a drift- 
way under the river's bed for over 1000 feet, being within 
200 feet of the opposite shore. This driftway was five feet 
high, three feet wide at the base, and two and a half at 
the top. The river broke in on the works in January, 1808, 
and no attempt was made to withdraw it. 

The object of Mr. Brunei's proposed tunnel, which con- 
sists of two arches, each fourteen feet wide, seventeen feet 
high, and twelve hundred feet long, was to supply the 
place of a bridge (the erection of which would have ma- 
terially impeded the navigation of the Thames and thereby 
materially injured the commerce of London), and permit 
traffic beneath the water. This was a practical object, 
and it was contended that its execution was correspond- 
ingly practicable. 

Mr. Brunei commenced the works, at Rotherhithe, on 
the Sarrey side, two miles below London Bridge, in Feb- 
ruary, 1825. His difficulties were great. There sometimes 
was a stratum of only six feet between the river and 



Thames Tunnel, 325 

the crown of the arch. Sometimes the workmen had to 
pierce through and build sglidly in a layer of quicksand. 
Though great precautions were used, the water broke in 
five times and several lives were lost. The funds supplied 
by the shareholders becanie exhausted just at the time 
when, after one great breach, the Thames flowed into the 
incomplete tunnel. At the suggestion of the Duke of Wel- 
lington, Parliament granted a loan. The whole of England 
took a lively interest in the concern. Fresh machinery 
was invented. Fresh workmen were employed. A second 
shaft was sunk, at Wapping, on the north side of the 
Thames, At last, on the 12th of August, 1841, both exca- 
vations were joined, and, after sixteen years of perseverance 
and anxiety, Mr. Brunei walked through the Tunnel, from 
the Surrey to the Middlesex terminus. Much more had 
to be done, however, before the work could be opened 
to the public. This was done on the 25th March, 1843, on 
which occasion, the contractor, then seventy-four years 
old, was knighted and became Sir Isambert Brunei. His 
son was the engineer of the Great Western Railway of 
England (the great broad-guage line from Exeter to Lon- 
don, via Bristol) and of the Great Eastern Steamship. 

The cost of the Tunnel, though large, was not so much 
as, under all the circumstances, might have been expected. 
The shareholders sank £180,000. The Parliamentary loan 
(the payment of which has never been required) was about 
£215,000. From various other sources, £50,000 were spent 
in finishing it. Total; half a million sterling, or $2,500,000, 
half the cost of Waterloo or London Bridge. 

Several characteristic anecdotes relating to the Thames 
Tunnel are current at or about the stations at Wapping 
and Rotherhithe. At the former classic locality it is said 
and firmly believed that scarcely any Frenchman leaves 
the Tunnel without saying, or thinking, that though Eng- 
lish money had constructed it, one of his own country- 
men, and not an Englishman, not even a British subject, 



326 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

had designed and completed it. At Rotherhithe, where 
Mr, Brunei resided, close to tJie shaft, while the work was 
in hand, some of the men actually engaged upon it relate 
with great gusto not only their own hair-breadth escapes 
from the accidents which occasionally occurred, but one of 
which Mr. Brunei was the hero. The first accident oc- 
curred after the men, having been over two years at work, 
had nearly lost all dread. At a distance of over five hun- 
dred feet from the shaft, the water broke in, and with so 
much violence that in fifteen minutes the tunnel was filled, 
and the men escaped only by a rapid scamper for their 
lives. Nine months later, when the tunnel had been made 
about half way across the river, the water again burst in 
with great violence, and six men were drowned. Mr. Brunei, 
the only other person there at the time, was carried on 
by the torrent into the shaft, and, floating as that was 
rapidly filled with water, reached solid land in safety but 
much bruised. After this accident there was a stoppage 
of the works for seven years, at the end of which time the 
Duke of Wellington induced Parliament to make the ne- 
cessary pecuniary advances. There were five irruptions of 
the Thames in all. Every two hours, the men working 
day and night in relief-gangs, a memorandum of progress 
was taken to Mr. Brunei, and he soon fell into the habit of 
awaking regularlj^ at the stated Intervals at night : — so 
much of a habit had this become that in the seven years 
during which the work was suspended, he awoke as usual 
every two hours. It was mentioned to me as a fact, which 
is very singular if true, and the person who told it to me 
had it direct from himself, that in a few weeks after the 
Thames Tunnel was completed and the responsibility and 
anxiety of superintendence ofi" Brunei's mind, the constant 
habit of waking every two hours sensibly declined, and 
was wholly ended within three months. Sir Isambert 
Brunei died in 1849, at the ripe age of eighty. 

The Tunnel, reached through one of the shafts, shows a 



Thames TunneL 327 

double pathway, well lighted by gas, and in little side 
arches, vendors of small and portable articles have small 
shops or stands, Sunday being the only day on which 
these people may see the day-light. On week-days, 
many barrel-organs, by which the poor Savoyards pick 
up a mere livelihood, are to be heard. There is a pano- 
rama, too, literally on the lowest manner of art. Yery few 
Londoners visit the Tunnel — even fewer than those who 
visit the Tower, St, Paul's, and Westminster Abbey. The 
curiosity of foreigners is great, and next to these, strangers 
from the country like to be able to say that they walked 
under the Thames from one side to the other — that they ate, 
drank, talked, sang, and perhaps flirted under the river. 

As a work of science the Tunnel is a great achievement, 
but no one latterly thought it could be utilized, until the 
Directors of the Under-ground Railroad determined to avail 
themselves of it for the public accommodation. The great 
business-thoroughfares of London are so crowded with 
vehicles of all sorts, and generally so narrow, that the sub- 
terranean raih'oad is a great relief On the bridges the 
crowds literally appear engaged in a ceaseless struggle, 
through which transit is difficult, if not dangerous. The 
obstacles referred to, however, and the ocean of human life 
that alternately struggles, surges, stops, and quarrels^ 
along and on the bridges that span the Thames, will be re- 
lieved by the route under the Thames, which promises to 
be one of the most agreeable methods of intercommunica- 
tion in the world. ISTew York, always overrunning her 
glutted highways, will be finally forced to tunnel her 
streets ; but before doing so she should take a leaf out of 
London experience, which has cost so much brains and 
money. 



21, 



328 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 



LVIII.— CHESTER AND EATON HALL. 

OLD CHESTER — ANTIQUITY — THE '' ROWS " — CIVIC WALLS — 
EATON HALL — MARQUIS OF WESTMINSTER — EXTENSIVE 
HOUSE PROPRIETORSHIP — A PALACE OUT OP TOWN — ENTAIL 
AND PRIMOGENITURE — GROUND-RENTS AND HOUSE-RENTS 
— THE NAME OF " GROSVENOR " — A DOOMED SYSTEM — 
POPULAR RIGHTS AND AGITATION. 

Chestek, England, Aitgust 19, 1867. 

You can read history without books in the relics of this 
ancient city, which is sixteen miles southeast of Liverpool, 
by railroad. " First, the ancient Britons, then the conquest 
and colony of Imperial Rome, then the favorite city of the 
Anglo-Saxon monarchs, then the camp and court of the 
Norman Conqueror, then the key to the subjugation of 
Wales and to its union with the English Crown ;" and now 
again one of the centres of modern civilization. This was 
the British Caerleon, the Saxon Legecesier, the Boman 
Deva, and was the station of the Twentieth Legion, Valeria 
victrix, which they quitted towards the close of the fifth 
century. The city wall was built nearly a thousand years 
ago. Its first Earl, nephew of Norman William, rebuilt its 
Saxon castle, within twenty years of the battle of Hast- 
ings. The Danes had ravaged it a century before. As it 
is one of the most ancient, so is it also one of the most pic- 
turesque of English cities. You look back along the vista 
of the ages and trace the story of human ambition from a 
period anterior to the Christian era. Like much that you 
see in these old countries, the past is far more interesting 
thian the future. '' Eighteen hundred years," says the local 
guide, "have rolled away since Julius Aquila and his 
legions held sway over Chester, and yet ever since then, 



Chester and Eaton Hall, 329 

notwithstanding they have long since lain in the dust, 
scarce a year, has passed witbout the encroachments of the 
"builder or the researches of the antiquar}^ bringing to 
light some hidden but valuable relic of this extraordinary 
people." A community which existed, before the birth of 
our Saviour and fifteen recorded centuries prior to the dis- 
covery of North America, and proves its age by authentic 
vestiges of all these vanished times, becomes a still more 
agreeable object when its historical reminiscences are com- 
pared with its present unique surroundings. Here are 
houses the foundations and walls of which are more than a 
thousand years old, and for whole squares you pass under 
their overhanging porches, and view the rich shops hidden 
within their eaves. I can liken the whole affair to nothing 
better than to a continuous paved portico, divided so as to 
leave two long walks, the one below and the other along 
the middle. The lower portico is sixteen feet high, and 
the covered gallery over it would be continuous, if there 
were not occasional steps down to the street below The 
best shops, or " stores," in the city are all entered from the 
upper gallery ; the inferior^ shops and warehouses are be-' 
low. Here it may be remarked, that, throughout the 
British Islands, the word sho^ is used where we would call 
it store. The idea here is that a warehouse, wherein 
articles are laid by in quantities, alone ought to be called 
a store. The antiquity of these "■ Rows," as they are 
called, is very great, and the most accepted belief is that 
they were built by the Romans alike for recreation and 
defence. Their resemblance to the Italian vestibulse, and 
the fact that there was recently a street in old Rome 
bearing a close analogy to them, sustains this view. The 
two main streets, m which these " Rows " abound, cross 
each other at right angles, and were cut out of the sandstone 
by the Romans, several feet below the level of the houses 
already built above. The greater part of Chester is sur- 
rounded by ancient walls, seven or eight feet thick, nearly 



33 o Colonel- Forney s Letters from Europe. 

two miles in circuit, having four gates, shaped like an ob- 
long quadrangle, and now forming a fine promenade, with 
parapets, where two persons can easily walk abreast, as at 
York. From these city walls you behold the loveliest 
scenery and many of the modern improvements, and can 
scarcely fail to recognize them as proofs of Roman con- 
quest and skill. Earlier fortifications were probably erected 
there by the ancient Britons ; but those rude warriors were 
no masons, and their barriers of mud soon fell before the 
Romans, who, having taken possession of the territory, 
built in their stead a circle of stone, strong, compact, and 
symmetrical, which is standing in great part to this day, 
wonderfully preserved. 

For three or four centuries the Roman conquerors kept 
watch and ward; and when they retired the whole island 
was shaken to its centre by alternate conflicts between the 
natives and their new invaders, the Picts and Danes. In 
the succeeding centuries the Roman walls constituted the 
defences of the Saxons, the Danes, and the Normans : and 
finally, in the great civil war, when Chester was held by 
♦the army of King Charles the First, that profligate monarch 
from these walls beheld his army defeated on Rowton 
Moor, by the forces of Cromwell, on the 14th of September, 
1645. I mounted the crumbling turret, where he stood and 
saw the Puritans put his curled cavaliers to ignominious 
flight, and thought of the glorious harvests which had been 
gathered alike in England and America from the seeds of 
that bloody sowing. 

The walls are the favorite promenade of the people of ■ 
Chester, especially in the evening, and the stranger's at- 
tention is pointed among other things to a bridge over the 
river Dee, which has a s^Dan of two hundred feet, said to be 
the largest yet made in stone. He can notice many objects 
reviving the long gone past, as he paces their jpleasant, 
round. ■ 

Not so venerable in years, but nest in importance, is the 



Chester and Eaton Hall, ^ 331 

Cathedral, founded originally A. D..660, but finally begun 
and finished by one of the ancestors of the Marquis of West- 
minster, the Norman peer whose splendid estates near the 
town, and whose boundless possessions in other parts of 
England, have made him one of the wealthiest men in the 
world. This ancestor was the Earl Hugh Lupus, nephew 
and favorite of the Norman Conqueror. Having lived a life 
of debauchery and excess, he compounded for his sins by 
building the Abbey of St. Warburgh, from which the Cathe- 
dral rose. As Lady Morgan says, in her great work on 
Italy, of the contemporaries of this fierce penitent : ** The 
factious chiefs of many a fiery feud competed in holy ex- 
travagance of shrine and altar, and lavished thousands 
upon votive chapels and gorgeous tombs, which now lie 
ruinous or spoliated. The purchase and decoration of a 
chapel or an oratory, in one of these great churches, was 
sometimes the monument of a crime, sometimes the testi- 
mony of a pious ostentation, and always a price paid on 
account of salvation." And again, " The founder of the In- 
quisition, the exterminator of the Albigenses, the persecutor 
of the Yaudois, has shrines and churches raised to his honor 
all through Christian Europe." But in the time of Henry 
YIII. the Cathedral at Chester, passing from the possession 
of the Catholics in the sixteenth century, became a great 
Episcopal temple, and, magnificent though rather ruin- 
ous, is still used for the daily services of the Church of 
England. There are fifty more extensive and s]plendid 
ecclesiastical monuments on the Continent, but all of them 
are Catholic ; yet there is not one that tells so eloquent 
and chequered a story of the changes of government and 
religion as this dusky and crumbling pile. There are many 
other ancient mementos in Chester, but the most natural 
transition, after a visit to the " Rows," the Walls, and the 
Cathedral, is to the modern splendors of Eaton Hall, the 
vast estate of the Marquis of Westminster, whose great 
ancestor finished the Cathedral, and much of whose lordlv 



332 J2olunel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

domains were, as I have said, acquired by that ancestor 
under the Norman Conqueror. 

These extensive domains, seventeen miles in length and 
seven miles in width (a larger space than is occupied b}^ the 
District of Columbia, and nearlj^ as large as that included 
in all the boundaries of the consolidated city of Philadel- 
phia), are almost within the limits of Chester, a good part 
of which is also the property" of the same nobleman. His 
tenantry are variously estimated from five to seven hun- 
dred ; but notwithstanding the portion of his lands under 
cultivation, we rode for hours along the woods that enclose 
his palace, grounds that are left untilled and fallow, save 
where the gardens and conservatories are tended for the 
use of his family and servants. For eight months in the 
year the Marquis and his household are absent, eDJ03ang 
themselves in the royal pleasures of London (where he 
owns miles of ground covered with squares and streets of 
houses, and known as " Belgravia," from the fact that Yis- 
cbunt Belgrave is one of his titles), or residing at some of. 
his other great estates ; and during all this period the 
Ciieshire estate is left in charge of the stewards, whose time 
is occupied in watching the buildings and grounds, and in 
showing them to strangers. 

The hall in vrhich the Marquis resides when he is here, 
and where are preserved the gorgeous memorials of his 
lineage, and the luxurious objects of virtu, purchased at 
fabulous prices, is four hundred and fifty feet in length, ex- 
clusive of the stables and outbuildings. The whole splen- 
did pile covers a space of seven hundred feet in front. As 
the local guide-book says : 

Erected and adorned regardless of expense, tasteful and grand 
in design ^nd execution, this princely pile — gothic in every material 
characteristic — is a model of all that is rich and elegant in domes- 
tic architecture. Look up for a moment at the gracefully light 
yet massive structure, at the sculptured niches, its crocketted pin- 
nacles and embattled parapets, its windows filled with gorgeous 



Chester and Eaton Hall, ^33 

tracery, every available space upon its surface bristling witb 
shields charged with the heraldic crests and quarterings of the 
Grosvenor family, and say if the sight, rich even to profusion, and 
almost indescribable, savors not more of a palace of fairy land than 
of the house and home of a retiring English nobleman ! 

I should weary you with the description of the interior 
of an establishment which is in keeping with the useless and 
nearly Oriental extravagance of the exterior. I could tell 
you of the floor of one room, less than forty feet square, 
which alone cost eight thousand dollars — of groined ceil- 
ings — canopied niches with mailed warriors, representiDg 
the ancestors of the noble owner. — of marble vases and 
statues — of the great corridor, five hundred feet in length, 
enriched with portraits of the family — of the chapel, with 
its bosses, monograms, stained glass windows, and sacred 
medallions — of the regal dining-room, with its sumptuous 
decorations, and of the saloon, or reception-room, which the 
obsequious guide-book describes as follows : 

Measuring nearly eleven yards square, the graceful arches inter- 
secting the angles invest it with quite an octagonal appearance. 
From these, and the walls, springs the roof, with its majestic dome 
of dazzling splendor — a matchless epitome of all that is rich, 
chaste and beautiful in decorative art. The prevailing colors are 
crimson, blue, and gold, and these so judiciously blended that the 
eye never tires in its fascinating mission ; but still gazing upwards, 
allured and bewildered, finds new beauties and richer charms the 
longer one remains in this wondrous saloon. From the marble base 
springs a lofty fretwork of painted mosaic, in close imitation of 
the Ambassadors' Court in the Alhambra Palace — that peerless 
relic of old Moorish magnificence. Higher still range panels and 
medallions, apparently in high relief; but this curious effect is a 
mere illusion of the painter, for the whole of the walls are perfc ct y 
flat. 

The windows of the saloon are in perfect consonance with the 
apartment itself, and contain six handsome figures, representing 
"William the Conqueror " and his uncle " Odo, Bishop of Bayeux ;" 
" Sir Gilbert le Grosvenor," nephew of King William, and an im- 



334 Colo?tel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

aginary portrait of Ms wife , " Sir Robert le Grosvenor" (of Scroope 
and Grosvenor notoriety), and "Joan Pulford," his wife. The view 
from these windows, which open out to the terrace and cloistered 
arcade on the east side of the hall, is one of rich and varied 
beauty. In the foreground we see the elegant terrace, gardens, 
and lake ; and just beyond, catch here and there a glimpse of the 
"tortuous Dee." Between yon avenue of trees, and some sixteen 
miles away, the landscape ends with the towering, ruin-clad hill of 
Beeston, and the noble baronial Castle of Peckforton. 

Next we have the drawing-room, second only to the saloon in 
the splendor of its decorations. Fifty feet in length — its ceiling 
sparkling with heraldic shields, and honeycombed with tracery in 
cream-color and gold — its walls hung with rich crimson silk damask ; 
its superb niches, vases, and chandeliers ; its marble chimney-piece 
and mirror; its glorious original pictures of the "Wise Men's Of- 
fering," by Eubens ; the " Battles of the Boyne and La Hogue," by 
West, and other celebrated works of art — all invest this room with 
a halo which no words of ours can possibly do justice to. It must 
be seen to be appreciated ; and, to be admired as it deserves, must 
be closely scrutinized in all its bearings. 

From the drawing-room we proceed, along the corridor, into the 
library, a spacious apartment at the southern extremity of the hall. 
This well-proportioned room measures sixty-two feet by fifty feet — 
a range of pillars on either side adding symmetry and strength to 
its richly-groined ceiling. Three bold gothic windows — facing 
south, east, and west — shed a fine flood of light into the room, the 
oaken bookcases of which are filled to overflowing with the richest 
and rarest works of ancient and modern literature. 

From the south window of the library, we look out upon a beau- 
tiful garden, stretching away to a considerable distance. In the 
immediate foreground is a large stone reservoir, filled with a con- 
stant supply of water, within which innumerable gold-fish play 
their gambols in the sun. A massive dolphin fountain rises from 
the centre of the basin, and throws up a crystal stream of water, 
which, returning to the reservoir below, keeps both the pond and 
its inmates in incessant motion. Four large statues, in Portland 
stone, ornament this portion of the grounds, viz. : Odo, Bishop of 
Bayeux, Engueulph le Grosvenor, Joan, the heiress who brought 
Eaton into the family, and Sir Eobert le Grosvenor. 

Turn we now to the grand staircase, a portion of the hall which 



Chester and Eaton Hall, 335 

may vie witli any we have yet visited, whether for beanty or 
variety. A flight of stairs running up from the centre, continued 
again towards the right and left, conduct to the second gallery, and 
to the private apartments on the higher story. Opposite to us, on 
either side as we ascend, are two Egyptian statues in colored 
marble, within rich gothic niches. The decorations of this stair- 
case are sumptuous in the extreme, blue and gold being the pre- 
dominant colors — the whole producing to the eye of taste a grand, 
impressive, and lasting effect. Among the paintings embellishing 
this staircase and its vicinity are the "Leicestershire Hunt," by 
Fernely ; the " Grosvenor Hunt," by Stubbs ; and another of the 
" Cheshire Hunt," all three introducing portraits of the Grosvenor 
family, either of the last or present generation. Another picture 
deserving our notice is that of a "Brood Mare and Foals," painted 
also by Stubbs. The private sitting-rooms of Lord and Lady 
Westminster, which, with other apartments, adjoin the great corri- 
dor, are not exhibited to strangers. Numerous pieces of statuary, 
family portraits, and racing pictures, many of them of great in- 
terest, arrest our attention as we move along the corridor ; but 
having now returned to the entrance hall, we must beat a hasty 
retreat from this scene of enchantment, and emerging from its 
portals, bid farewell to Eaton Hall, the palatial home of the Mar- 
quis of Westminster. 

Before we do so, however, if provided beforehand with tickets 
from " our publisher," we may take a turn round the spacious 
gardens on the east side of the hall. Passing through the stable 
or court-yard, we arrive at a gate-way, through which we are 
straightway ushered into the beautiful private grounds of the man- 
sion. Though time and space alike forbid us to enlarge upon their 
charms, the gardens of Eaton will amply repay the careful inspec- 
tion of every admirer of " Nature, art-adorned." The rich groves 
of trees — the rare shrubs and flowers, with their attendant per- 
fumes — the crystal conservatory — the massive statuary — the dol- 
phin fountain — the Koman altar dedicated by the Twentieth Legion 
to the "Nymphs and Fountains" — the fairy lake — the verdant 
lawns, the walks of "sweet umbrageous beauty" — each and all 
combine to invest these gardens with a charm peculiarly their own. 
Gladly would we linger all day in this sylvan retreat — but we must 
away ! — and exchanging our barge for a cab with a party just ar- 



2^6 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe* 

rived (cabmen and boatmen first of all consenting to the arrange- 
ment), we are soon out of sight of the " Palace of the Dee." 

Moving rapidly along the avenue, past yon herd of timid deer, 
startled into flight at our approach, we soon flit beneath the arch- 
way of a lodge which marks the boundary of the park. A ride of 
two miles, through a serpentine avenue of " old hereditary trees," 
now remains to us ; and from this we emerge only to behold 
the Grosvenor Gateway, with old Chester in the distance. The 
Grosvenor Gateway was erected in 1838, on the site of Overleigh 
Hall, once the manorial seat of the Cowpers of Overleigh. This 
lodge is a copy of St. Augustine's Gate, at Canterbury, altered 
(some say improved) here and there by the late Mr. Jones, archi- 
tect, of Chester. Built, like the hall itself, of white freestone, en- 
riched, too, with a profuseness of carving and heraldic sculpture, 
this entrance lodge to the Eaton estate forms a fitting introduction 
to the magnificent mansion we have just quitted; of which, in 
conclusion, we may truly say that — 

Take it for all in all. 
We ne'er shall look upon its like again ! 

And these are but part of the possessions of one mem- 
ber of the ruling classes of England, whose income is only 
a guinea orfiive dollars a minute, in gold, and whose wealth 
is constantly increasing with the growth of London, where 
so many of his possessions are found. According to the 
law of entail, his estates, like those of other rich landlords, 
whether nobles or commoners, are reserved for his eldest 
son, whose brothers and sisters can inherit only their j^arents' 
personal property or estates which are unentailed. In fact, 
this non-alienation of real property is the basis of the law 
of primogeniture, — a law still retained in the British em- 
pire, but almost universally abolished, as by common con- 
sent, in other European countries, as well as in the United 
States. The operation of this law of entail has built up 
the colossal fortune of the Marquis of Westminster, who 
boasts not only that the founder of his family " came in 
with the Conqueror," (the usual boast of the highest Eng- 
lish nobility !) but had flourished in Normandy a hundred 



Chester and Eaton Hall, 337 

and fifty years before Duke William invaded England, and 
that Ms own surname, Grosvenor, was derived from that 
ancient soldier and some of his ancestors having held, in 
the Roman Duchy, the high oflSce of Le Grosveneur — sup- 
posed to indicate gubernatorial station. Towards the sev- 
enteenth century one of the Grosvenors, a baronet, married 
a Middlesex heiress, by whom he acquired large tracts of 
land in and adjoining London. As that city stretched 
westward, this land came into demand for building, and, 
being entailed by marriage settlement, could not be sold. 
It is let, however, in building-lots, for ninety-nine years, 
at the end of which lease, the land, with whatever buildings 
had been erected upon it, revert to the house of Grosve- 
nor, which obtained a peerage over a hundred years ago. 
The difference between the small amount of yearly ground- 
rent and the immensely greater house-rent is a constant 
and increasing source of income to the Marquis of West- 
minster, and as he owns the land upon which Grosvenor 
Square, Belgrave Square, Eaton Square, and scores of 
streets in the west or fashionable end of London, it would 
appear that, should such a condition of things he alloioed to 
continue, the income of this fortunate nobleman may rise 
from one million pounds sterling a year, at which it is esti- 
mated, to five, ten, or even twenty times that amount. 

Considering all these details, which were stated to me 
by a very intelligent and apparently well " posted-up " gen- 
tleman whom I had the good fortune to meet at Chester, I 
could understand why John Bright and Goldwin Smith, 
and their compatriots, oppose what they call the territorial 
aristocracy of England. Under the laws of primogeniture 
these vast domains may be held in defiant perpetuity. The 
legal division of the soil in France and Switzerland has 
saved those countries from incalculable evils ; and Italy 
and Spain groan under no load, after the insufferable supre- 
macy of an army of priests, so grievous as that of the 
proud and enervated nobility who hold her great estates. 



2^S Colonel Forney's Letters from Europe^ 

There is no such system now possible in the United States, 
tliough we had it once, and it lingered latest in Virginia. 
The habits, alike the interests of our people, necessitate 
the general distribution of the lands, and so increase the 
general prosperity The attempt to destroy the Union 
proceeded from the land monopolists of the South — the 
barons of slavery ; and when they fell, their policy of ex- 
clusion ended, not only because the spirit of a rescued Re- 
public opposed it, but because there was endless advantage 
to themselves in the transition. How long the English 
aristocracy will contrive to preserve a system which is so 
adverse to the general weal, is a very grave question. The 
late reluctant concessions of Parliament to the people will 
compel many changes. Such revolutions never go back- 
ward ; and as Englishmen have never before had such 
opportunities as those they have bravely wrung from an 
imperious aristocracy, it is to be hoped they will employ 
them with equal resolution and wisdom. They have 
already begun a systematic agitation to confirm and obtain 
their rights ; and, if they are not divided by the nobility, 
they will soon be in full possession of the situation. When 
they are, the duty of dividing God's earth fairly among 
God's children will undoubtedly be fearlessly discussed, 
and the Marquis of Westminster may perhaps find that 
the question of giving any sort of compensation to him, 
and such as him, will not even be discussed. Primo- 
geniture is near its last in England. 



Peoples and Places Contrasted. ^^29 



LIX.— PEOPLES AND PLACES CON- 
TEASTED. 

foreigners' peculiarities — EUROPE AND AMERICA — ENG- 
LISH AND FRENCH — CHEWING ESCHEWED — PROVINCIAL 
DIALECTS — LIBERTY OF SPEECH — MR. DISRAELl'S HISTORI- 
CAL PARALLEL — PARIS AND LONDON OMNIBUSES — LONDON 
CHOP-HOUSES — dolly's — SIMPSON'S — THE SHILLING DINNER 
— waiters' FEES — PARISIAN RESTAURANTS — FRENCH CUR- 
RENCY AND COINAGE — MONEY UNIFICATION. 

Liverpool, August 20, 1867. 

The peculiarities of foreigners are the source of constant 
amusement and amazement to Americans ; and if Mr. Dick- 
ens was SO shocked and surprised at certain things he saw 
in the United States, that he could not restrain the impulse 
of strongly marking his opinions in his '' Notes," and of re- 
peating them in another and more studied production, 
many more excuses must be made for our countrymen when 
they speak ca,ndidly of the curious things they see in their 
travels through these olden lands. Mr. Dickens could roam 
over England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, through 
France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, and fail, even with his 
sharp and cynical eyes, to see many things which assume 
fantastic shapes and excite violent laughter among Ameri- 
cans, When he was translated to our shores, where every 
thing was fresh and new, he was perhaps a little too ready 
to give way to sensations that could not be aroused in his 
bosom among objects and scenes in Europe, far more 
strange and novel to us, simply because the latter were 
more familiar to him. 

The very worst sidg appears first in the United States. 
In Europe all the outer surface is polished and fascinating ; 



340 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

and he who travels quickly has little time, and often less in- 
clination, to break through the glittering shell. When he 
does he is filled with consternation at the sufi'erings of so 
many millions. of his fellow-creatures. Everybody travels 
in our portion of America ; and the intelligent foreigner, 
especially one who journeys for the purpose of using his 
eyes and his ears, and who examines nothing without some 
ulteripr object of criticism, is perhaps not to be blamed 
when he gives way to his prejudices at the odd habits which 
in this way astonish him on every side. Had Mr. Dickens 
remained among us long enough, or had he allowed his 
really fearless nature to understand that the people he sat- 
irized some twenty-five years ago were not yet in the gristle 
of first manhood, and were bound upon confessedly the 
greatest mission ever started for the relief and the rescue 
of mankind, he would doubtless have revised many of his 
earlier impressions, and have evolved a more practical phil- 
osophy from that more careful observation. Coming over 
here, fully accustomed to all the things which excited the 
risibilities of Mr. Dickens, I have not attempted to restrain 
my own surprise at much that I see, and if I were to under- 
take to make an elaborate record of this experience you 
would generally sympathize with me. 

The peculiarities of the English and French, both of them 
violent contrasts to our own, even as these are drawn by the 
facile and fertile pen of the great British writer, are also in- 
describably different from each other. Every Englishman 
carries an umbrella ; every Frenchman a cane. The French- 
man smokes everywhere ; the English gentleman not often, 
except in some isolated den, in his own house, and hardly 
ever in public places. If Mr. Dickens and our last English 
<iensor, Mr. Hepworth Dixon, in his ''New America," were 
properly disgusted at the too-prevalent practice of chewing 
tobacco in the United States, may not an equally just 
judgment lie against the universal habit of smoking in 
France, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy? The strong 



Peoples and Places Contrasted, 341 

complaints of foreigners who visit Washington at the ap- 
pearance of huge wooden spittoons in the chambers of the 
Senate and House of Representatives, and the very general 
custom of Congressional expectoration, which have more 
than once seemed to me foolishly hypercritical, were ac- 
counted for as I sat in the gallery of the British House of 
Commons, and in the gallery of the French Corps Legis- 
latif, and saw four hundred persons in the first and nearly 
two hundred in the second, not one of whom indulged in 
the American practice of spitting. I called the attention of 
several Americans around me to the fact, and all agreed 
that it accounted for much of the prevalent ease and clean- 
liness. It is undoubtedly the universal avoidance of 
chewing tobacco that explains the absence of all impurities 
on the stairs, landings, walls, columns, and statues of the 
I)ublic buildings in Europe. Of course, where a good habit 
becomes as it were the fashion, it is generally very usefully 
imitated. The saddest contrast to all this is very easily 
found by any one who visits the English massfs in the 
hovels of their agricultural districts, the holes and dens 
of their manufacturing centres, and the purlieus of their 
great cities. Here vice and filth reign so triumphant in their 
most glaring forms, that we soon cease to admire the out- 
side varnish that hides the reeking inside rottenness. 

Our English critics speak most disparagingly of the nasal 
tones of the American dialect, but they never admit the 
fact that the large majority of their own people constantlj^ 
spoil and drown their own language in the most savage jar- 
gon. Nothing is more agreeable to me than to hear our 
language spoken by an accomplished English gentleman or 
lady. Their cultivated voices, their delicate and. exact pro- 
nunciation, and the charming avoidance of all clamor in con- 
versation, are inexpressibly agreeable, yet the same may be 
said of the cultivated classes in our own country ; but when 
the masses of the peo]3le of England and America are com- 
X)ared, no fair judge will deny that our common tongue is 



342 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

much better spoken by the latter. In fact, the lingual in- 
tercourse between the working people of England is so 
uncouth and barbaric as to sound more like the vernacular 
of Indian tribes. No Englishman, however censorious, can 
fail to understand an American, however ignorant ; but my 
ingenuity has been frequentlj^ taxed to understand a single 
word of the incoherencies of men and women who were 
talking to each other in some of the rural districts I visited 
in Great Britain. There are at least a dozen different dia- 
lects, formed by variations in pronunciation, in England 
alone, while the distinction even of counties is so strongly 
marked in Scotland and Ireland that an accustomed ear 
will soon distinguish between the barbarous sounds, in con- 
versation, by the natives of Aberdeen and Fife, of the 
shores of Lanark and Berwick, and a native of Ulster is as 
equally to be distinguished from his neighbor in Connaught 
as the semi-Anglican pronunciation of Dublin instantly 
strikes the ear as different from the peculiar tightness of 
utterandfe in Cork. I was informed on the authority of an 
eminent philologist, who had made the subject of dialects 
one of his particular studies, that a thorough Lancashire- 
man, indulging in his country's habit of nipping some 
words and extending the sound of others^ would scarcely 
be understood by an ordinary Londoner or Cockney, who, 
in turn, by changing his i' into w, and removing the h from 
where it should and placing it where it should not be 
sounded, would almost speak an unknown tongue in the 
north of England, where there are curious varieties of in- 
tonation. There is what is called ''a burr "in the pro- 
nunciation of Northumberland, in the northeast, and also 
in Cumberland, in the northwest of the Island. The two 
counties actually join, yet the natives pronounce so dif- 
ferently that the Cumbrian is not readily understood by 
the Northumbrian, and vice versa. Lancashire has not 
only a dialect of its own, but, as I hear, even a literature 
of its own, many books (badly spelled, to show the peculiar 



Peoples and Places Contrasted. 343 

pronunciation), emanating from the local press every year, 
to the great delight of the native population. In the 
southern county of Dorset, there also is a particular lit- 
erature, composed in the local tongue, as difficult to under- 
stand, without previous knowledge or close study, as that 
of Lancashire. The peculiar habit of the west of England, 
and particularly of Somersetshire, of giving the sound of 
z to the letter s, is balanced by the habit, in the eastern 
counties, of sounding % as if it were a. I was informed 
that it would be practicable to get a dozen Englishmen 
together, from various localities, who, for some little time 
at least, would understand each other as little as if they 
had never belonged to those 

" Who speak the tongue that Shakspeare spake." 

There is no English and French peculiarity that stands 
in such painful contrast to the United States as that which 
prevents the people from freely commingling with each 
other. In England the difficulty is not so great as in 
France, but the eflbrts of the Reformers to hold monster 
assemblies were only successful through the courage of 
such men as Mr. Beale, and the fear of the authorities 
that the attempt to suppress them might lead to fatal con- 
sequences. It is reported, I know not on what authority, 
that when Mr. Walpole, the amiable and able but timid 
gentleman who then was Secretary of State for the Home 
Department, proposed that the Government should issue a 
proclamation absolutely prohibiting the holding of monster 
meetings of the Reformers, he was reminded by Mr. 
Disraeli that most probably the last Revolution in Paris, 
which overthrew the Orleans d^aiasty, would probably 
not have taken place, but for Louis Philippe's having acted 
on the advice of Guizot, his minister, to interdict the re- 
form banquet which the leaders of the Parliamentary oppo- 
sition had announced. The dinner, which was to have 
taken place on the 22d February, 1848, (was there design 

22 



344 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

or accident in the selection of our Washington's birthday ?) 
was prevented, but, on the following day, on swept the 
surging waves of that Revolution which cast Louis 
Philippe and his famih^ out of France, and ended in the 
restoration of the Empire and the re-establishment of the 
Bonaparte dynasty. The truth of this historical reference 
persuaded even Mr. Walpole himself; the Reformers held 
their great meetings without opposition or interference by 
the authorities, and after some able speeches had been 
made, the multitude peaceably separated, without the peace 
of London having been disturbed or endangered. 

In France it is still impossible for any number of gentle- 
men to congregate without express permission from the 
police authorities, and when the Americans celebrated the 
last Fourth of July at the Grand Hotel, in Paris, they were 
repeatedly admonished by some of the worshippers of the 
Empire, that unless they sent word of their intention to 
the Prefect of Police, their patriotic enterprise would be 
frustrated ; and, I believe, that nothing but the fact that 
the Emperor was not unwilling to let our countrymen say 
what thej^ thought in a respectful manner, prevented the 
success of these sinister predictions. 

You have already been informed of the moderate charges 
of cabs in London and voitures in Paris, but you have not 
been told about the omnibuses." There are in Paris thirty- 
one lines of these convej^ances, which convey about eighty 
millions of passengers per annum, for six cents inside and 
three cents on top. Inside passengers may procure an ex- 
change ticket on different lines without additional cost. 
The new charter of this omnibus company runs to the year 
1910 ; it pays the city nearly two hundred thousand dollars 
per annum for the right of driving five hundred omnibuses. 
The company is bound to keep special omnibuses for the 
convej^ance of workmen at the oj^tion of the municipality, 
and, when required, to furnish carts for the removal of ice 
and snow, or to convey sand or other materials to places 



Peoples and Places Contrasted. 345 

on the public ways. In London there are about 3,500 om- 
nibuses, which employ about 12,000 persons, and 35,000 
horses. It is estimated that, in the course of each year, as 
many as 300,000,000 persons ride in these conveyances, 
which were in use in Paris, where they were invented, long 
before they were adopted in London to supersede the heavy 
and expensive hackney coaches. The omnibus fares vary, 
according to the distance, from three to six pence. They 
have been as low as one penn}^, in some cases where oppb- 
sition vehicles have been put upon a particular line. 

Nothing interests a stranger more than the restaurants 
of Paris and London, and here I can say that, having tried 
many of them, I met nothing to compare' with Delmonico's, 
in New York. This is somewhat surprising, considering 
that the whole population of Paris literally live in the cafes ; 
but herein I believe I speak for all our countrymen. There 
are some six hundred chop-houses or dining-rooms in Lon- 
don which supply dinners, and nine hundred coffee-houses, 
which supply tea to the stranger, and there is a place in the 
Strand, called The Divan, where, for one shilling, you have 
the entree of a handsome room, a cup of coffee and a cigar, 
and the use of periodicals, chess, &c. Some of the London 
eating-houses are distinguished by the peculiarity of sup- 
plying only one particular viand or description of viands, 
cooked in a superior manner. For instance, Dolly's chop- 
house, near Paternoster Row, the centre of the English 
book-publishing trade, has been distinguished for more than 
a century for its mutton-chops and beefsteaks ; Garraway's, 
near the Royal Exchange, was famous for its sandwiches ; 
the Cock, near the Bank of England, for its ox-tail soup : 
and the Ship, in Leadenhall street, for its turtle ; and close 
to Billingsgate is a sort of hotel where, in rather a rough 
manner, a dining ordinary is held twice a day, at which, in 
addition to every luxury in fowl and flesh, an infinite variety 
and abundance of the finest fish that can be procured is 
supplied for eighteen pence. I was informed, but had no 



34^ Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

opportunity of personal knowledge, that in one of the 
great city thoroughfares, near the Exchange and Bank of 
England (I have forgotten the name of the street), two 
houses stand together, in which, for over a century, fortune 
after fortune has been made. In one of these is a butcher's 
shop, where he who intends to dine gives eight pence for 
his steak or chop, of superior quality, and convej^s his pur- 
chase, very daintily, in his hand on a piece of white paper 
into the next house, which is a licensed tavern. There, in 
an immense kitchen, kept as "clean as a new pin," numer- 
ous small tables, neatly covered, are to be found, at one of 
which he takes his seat, while a buxom cook-maid, who pre- 
sides at an immense fire at one end of the apartment, cooks 
it for him, the charge being one penny, which includes 
pepper, mustard, salt, &c. A further outlay of two pence 
obtains bread, mealy potatoes, or some other vegetable, the 
actual cost of a good and remarkably well-cooked dinner 
being eleven pence, which rises to a shilling (twenty-four 
cents) by a liberal donation of one penny to the " neat- 
handed Phillis " who waits upon the guest. If vinous, 
malt, or spirituous liquor is desired, which is almost al- 
wa3^s the case, the bar supplies it, at the usual rates. But 
the fact exists that a well-dressed, well-served, and excellent 
plain dinner, consisting of as much prime meat as can 
satisfy a reasonable man's ordinary requirement, can be 
had in this London kitchen for one shilling. Bankers, 
merchants, brokers, in fact, the various classes who do 
business in " the city," take their early dinner in this and 
other eating-houses, and the richer they are, the less likeh^ 
are they to go to a higher expense than the single shilling, 
which includes the waiter's penny. So accumulative are 
these pennies, as many as 1,500 to 2,000 persons severally 
disbursing them each day in one house, that the situation 
of head-waiter is sometimes rented out, and, though a 
number of assistants have to be provided and paid by him 
where the guests are numerous, the head-waiter in a popular 



Peoples and Places Contrasted, 347 

eating-house in "the citj^" sometimes makes net proiats 
amounting to over five hundred pounds a year. 

In Paris there are nearly 3000 restaurants or eating- 
houses — some of which are extravagant enough, and no 
really elaborate dinner can be had for less than eight to 
ten francs, but there are houses where tolerable dinners 
are served for two francs, including wine. In some a din- 
ner can be procured for thirty- five or even thirty sous. 
It is difficult to fancy any thing more tastefully brilliant 
than the cafes on the Boulevards, when lighted at night; 
The effect whether seen from within or without is perfectly 
dazzling ; chairs and small tables are placed outside where 
both sexes enjoy the cool of the evening and witness the 
animated scenes around them, while within you see your- 
self reflected by mirrors remarkable for their size and 
number. You are bewildered with the blaze of light, and 
the confused glitter of gilding and glass. Nearly all these 
places furnish chocolate, coflTee, tea, ices, liquors, &c. 

There is nothing of which the French may so justly 
boast as their coinage, as he who travels through Germany 
has often confessed to his sorrow. All accounts in France 
are kept in francs and centimes; the gold pieces are 100 
francs, 50 francs, 20 francs, 10 francs, and 5 francs ; the 
silver coins are 5 francs, 2 francs, 1 franc, and pieces of 
fifty centimes (half a franc) and twenty-five centimes ; the 
coi^per coins are two sous, one sou, and one and two cen- 
times. Paper money is never used in small amounts; 
the notes issued by the Bank of France are of fifty, one hun- 
dred, two hundred, five hundred, one thousand, and five 
thousand francs, convertible into silver at the bank at par. 
It is a remarkable and a somewhat humiliating fact that at 
this moment the Bank of France has accumulated a fund 
of seven hundred millions of gold and silver coin, and that 
of England has collected over four hundred and ten mil- 
lions of the same kind of bullion. 

The efforts of our Government to unify the coinage of 



3-J-8 ColoneUForney s Letters from Europe, 

the world, cordially met by Lonis Napoleon and coldly re- 
ceived by England, will eventnally trinniph. Each nation 
will preserve its own distinctive vignette, bnt the values of 
the leading coins of the civilized nations will be the same 
everywhere, thus saving the tremendous losses under the 
present system, consequent upon the necessity of exchang- 
ing coins of diflerent weight, purit}^, and style. 



LX.— FREE TRADE AND PROTECTION. 

ANGLO-FRENCH FREE-TRADE TREATY EVIL OPERATION IN 

ENGLAND— CONTINENTAL MANUFACTURING PROGRESS — THE 
CREED AND WILLIAMS' PAMPHLET — ITS APPLICATION TO 

THE UNITED STATES TENDENCY OF FREE TRADE TO REDUCE 

WAGES. 

Liverpool, Eng., August 21^ 1867. 

The English free-traders are getting restive under the 
too practical and severe application of their own remedies 
to themselves. In the midst of their appeals to the United 
States to adopt these remedies as the only sure cure for 
all the ills of trade, the}^ are brought to the public con- 
fessional in a manner which cannot fail to produce a 
marked eftect upon labor in every part of the world, and 
especially upon the great American industries. The honors 
still paid to the memory of Richard Cobden for arranging 
the free-trade treaty between England and France, in 1859, 
have been supplemented by a pamphlet headed "Handi- 
craftsmen and Capitalists," just issued, being a republica- 
tion of certain articles that originally appeared in the 
London Times, written in the interest of the ironmasters 
of England by Messrs. H. Herries Creed and Walter 



Free Trade and Prolection, 349 

Williams, Jr. Tliis celebrated treaty, inspired in the in- 
terests of free-trade England, and intended mainly to pro- 
mote her own manufactures, bids fair to result in her ruin, 
because it left open the door to a fatal competition, which, 
as the pamphlet in question proceeds to show, enabled 
other countries to underwork, and therefore to undersell, 
Great Britain in certain important manufactures. Alarmed 
at the evidences of this startling fact and at the combina- 
tions in the large manufacturing districts, and indeed 
among all the handiworkers throughout the United King- 
dom, in favor of higher wages, these two gentlemen were 
sent to Belgium for the purpose of inquiring into the 
causes which enabled the iron producers and manufac- 
turers in that country to underbid their English rivals in 
the great markets of Europe. The pamphlet before me is 
the product of their investigations. Circulated also as an 
argum.ent against Mr. Bright and his friends, who, while 
advocating free trade on the one hand, do not hesitate to 
advocate universal education on the other, and who, for 
doing so, are mainly held accountable for the disturbances 
among the working men, the pamphlet in question assumes 
a valuable consequence when it is read in the light of the 
appeals' to the people of the United States to adopt free- 
trade doctrines. If the authors of this pamphlet had re- 
flected what a double-edged sword they had forged and 
sharpened, they would have withheld their reflections from 
the world. The sum and substance of their investigations 
is, that the only way to enable Great Britain to recover her 
* supremacy as the great workshop of the nations is to keep 
her people in ignorance, and to reduce the wages of labor 
down to a level with those of Belgium. First, as to the 
present condition of the iron interest of Great Britain as a 
result of free-trade policy, observe in the extract whicli 
follows, and particularly in the italicized sentences, how 
much the iron interest of England gained by our civil war, 
and hoW; now that the rebellion has been crushed and that 



jl^o Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

Tve are falling back into our former prosperous condition, 
British mamifacturers will lose in the long run, and be 
fmally distanced, not only b}^ the United States, but b}^ 
their Continental competitors. Let the confession of the 
pamphlet tell the story : 

ATe are in presence of a real danger while these people are 
looking at one of which there is only a shadow, and that, as we 
believe, a shadow created by imagination, and not that of an ex- 
istence. We are face to face now, at this moment, with the great- 
est obstruction that British industry has ever been checked by, 
and unless we can remove it, and remove it promptly, the suprem- 
acy which we have held in production and manufacture will be 
transferred to wiser and harder-working nations. The civil war 
of America and the political condition of Germany have stayed 
the progress of those countries, and have checl'ed the advancing 
foot that was treading on our heds. We have again widened the 
before narroiving distance between ifs, and we again hold our 
own in the production of textile fabrics and many other mdus- 
tnes. But in the meantime Belgium, which has enjoyed even to 
a greater extent than ourselves the advantage of being a neutral 
poicer. and France, whose great hoarded ivealth and hitherto 
insufficiently appreciated poiuers of production have been receiv- 
ing rapid as well as co7itinuous development from the application 
of the ivonderfid administrative ability of her Emperor, have 
been, steadily overhauling us at a pace increasing daily. And 
they have been doing this most remarkably in the very industry in 
which, above all others, we ought to have beeu able to set com- 
petition at defiance. In cotton we were dependent on another 
nation for the raw material. In the case of iron every description 
of raw material required in aid of its manufacture is the produce 
of our own soil. It is under our feet. And yet, with all this 
advantage, with the additional advantage, too, as we are told, of 
possessing the best and most advanced skilled workmen in the 
world, Belgium and France have been thrusting us out of foreign 
markets to an extent which the public will hardly credit, and of 
which the trade itself is scarcely aware. They have in Eussia 
grasped with extraordinary energy and success the trade in all 
matters of manufactured iron for railway purposes. They have 
been making the rails; supplying the locomotive engines, the roofs 



r 



Free Trade and Protection, 351 

for stations and the pillars that support them, and buildinji^ the 
carriages. Russia is now in the first stage of railway develop- 
ment. For a long time to come she will be the best customer in 
Europe for iron in all its various forms of manufacture, notwith- 
standing her present exceptional produce in that high-class ma- 
terial which even we ourselves occasionally buy of her for the 
manufacture of steel. And yet in this market, great and remuner- 
ative actually, greater and more remunerative in promise, the 
Belgian and the Frenchman hold the principal position, and are 
in a fair way of obtaining an absolute monopoly. A like state of 
things obtains in Spain. There, again, England is thrust aside, 
defeated by Belgium and by France. TFe cannot comixde vnth 
their 'producers either in price or in continuousness and certainty 
of supply. Nor is this all. Even at home, even within our own 
boundaries, these industrious and pushing people are challenging 
our supremacy, and that not unfrequently with success. In bar- 
iron, in rails, in engines for agricultural purposes, and even in 
locomotives for railways, they have lately been obtaining orders 
even in our own market here at home. 

How and why is this ? How is it that our position in so great 
an industry has been slipping from under us ? It is a question of 
grave import, and these are facts calculated to create great 
anxiety, not only to the capital which embraces in its operations 
eighteen English counties, besides the Scotch, Welsh, and Irish 
districts , but to a large population of special habits and industrial 
skill, dependent upon the maintenance of our mines and our iron- 
works in full activity and progressive development. To these 
latter the question which we have asked is of far greater moment 
than it is or can be to either the State or the capitalist. The 
State may lose and yet exist, and carry on with loss more or less ; 
the capitalist may be compelled to make as acrifice in converting his 
fixed capital into movable, but he can carry that diminished capital 
and his undiminished reputation and administrative ability to 
Belgium, to France, to Spain, or to Prussian Poland. There, in 
any and in all of those countries, he will find great coal-fields of 
excellent yield, upon or near which he can establish ironworks, 
where, with the appliances that his capital can command and his 
administrative experience manage, he will, with the aid of native 
labor, cheerfully furnished, at a comparatively nominal rate, far 
outstrip the hampered efforts of his country, seize for himself that 



2^1 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

profit of whicli a large proportion would have been public property, 
and leave the discontented and combative artisans of England a 
burden to the country and a difficulty to themselves. To the 
artisan of Great Britain, to the Unionists of her manufacturing 
districts, this question is of the extremest importance. Their life 
or death hangs upon its prompt solution. Transfer of themselves 
is simply an impossihility . Foreign nations have a superabund- 
ance of labor, with which, untrammelled as they are by legislative 
restrictions, they can, with the aid of the improved -processes 
obtained by them from us, proceed independently and trium- 
phantly in the path on which they have entered so promisingly , 
and which, unless we can cross it, must conduct them to mono- 
poly. 

Deeply impressed with the prospect of the disastrous conse- 
quences which must ensue from a longer continuance of this state 
of things, and of the magnitude of the danger which is even now at 
our very door, we proceeded to Belgium, in the hope of being able, 
by personal investigation and by personal inspection of her mines 
and ironworks, to give an answer to this question of " How is 
this ?" and that we might either ourselves be able to suggest some 
mode of solving the problem now under discussion between the 
employer and the employed, or at least to give to the public infor- 
mation, the use of which might result in the evolution of ideas 
from others. "We have taken the utmost pains to procure infor- 
mation as to the statistics of the productions and trade of Belgium, 
as to the social condition and habits of the workmen engaged in 
her mines and ironworks, and the relation existing between them 
and the proprietors or companies who employ them, including the 
control claimed and exercised by the government, and we have 
taken no less pains to verify the information placed before us by 
personal investigation. 

The subjoined summary of their labors will be found 
worthy of the careful examination of our statesmen and 
people : 

The following tables, which may be entirely depended upon, will 
give a sufficient idea of the rate at which the industry of Belgium 
has been advancing from the year 1850 to the year 1863, both in- 
clusive. These tables include coal mines, iron ore, and other 



Free Trade and Protection. ^^Z 

metalliferous mines, pig-iron establishments, foundries, forges, and 
mills : 

TABLE I.— COAL. 

1S50. 1863. 

Acres worked 326,000 331,500 

Nominal horse-power in use 28,000 50,820 

Hands employed 48,000 79,187 

Tons (Belgian) raised 5,820,588 10,345,350 

Undertakings 310 289 

Yalue raised in round numbers 47,000,000f. 105,000,000f. 



TABLE IL— lEON OEE AND OTHER METALLIFEEOUS 
MINES. 

ISoO. 1863. 

Establishments. 804 668* 

Acres opened 118,000 125,000 

Workmen employed 5.695 13,122 

Tons of mineral produced 472,883 156,190 . 

* Of which 124 were open works. 

TABLE III.— PIG-IEON ESTABLISHMENTS. 

1850. 1863. 

Establishments 337 348 

Coal and coke furnaces ^^ 1 ai ^^1 

CharcQal 16 J ^ 6 | 

Nominal horse-power not given 18,300 

Workmen employed 12.932 27,059 

Produce of furnaces, in tons not given 392,178 



52 



TABLE IV. 

1850. 1863. 

Foundries 78 142 

Produce of foundries (tons) 17,000 61.505 

Produce of forges and mills (tons). 61,970. 255 183 

Produce converted (tons) 10,738 24,562 

Workmen employed in reworking 

iron into manufactured articles 

'and machinery 516 1,454 



354 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

We may here properly state that of every 1,000 hands employed 
below the surface 733 are men, 83 women, 135 boys and 49 girls 
under 16 years of age ; and of every 1,000 above the surface 688 
are men, 149 women, 88 boys and 85 girls under 16. 

If our readers will follow us through these figures they will find 
that there may be educed fropa them the following results. They 
will find that, while the extent of acreage under operation has re- 
mained nearly stationary, the produce realized and the hands em- 
ployed have increased in the following ratio : 

Per cent. 

The product of coal has increased , 100 

Ditto, of minerals , . 100 

Ditto, of forges and mills 300 

Ditto, of foundries 250 

The amount converted , 130 

The number of hands employed in coal mines has increased 55 

Ditto, in raising minerals 130 

Ditto, in blast furnaces 110 

Ditto, in forges and mills 220 

Ditto, in foundries and in reworking iron into manufactured 
iron and machinery 180 

Can any thing show more conclusively the enormous augmenta- 
tion of power in the labor of men and the work of machinery, but 
especially in the labor of men, which Belgium has daily, with un- 
tiring industry and earnestness, been bringing to bear upon this 
great branch of her resources ? 

We hope our own workmen will look at and think over these 
facts. They ought to find in them a valuable lesson. 

They can scarcely avoid seeing that it is mainly the application 
of rude labor, abundantly and perseveringly given, at an average 
of wages which we can assure them does not exceed, in the best- 
paid districts, 2s. 8d. a day for men, Is. 8d. a day for women, and 
Is. 2|d. a day for boys, tliat has enabled the population of Belgium 
so effectively and successfully to compete with. England in the 
markets of Europe. We find Belgium now meeting us at every 
turn a pushing and dangerous rival. We shall find her more dan- 
gerous and powerful still. As she receives fresh accession of aid, 
and becomes endued with augmenting povv^er from increasing skill, 



Free Trade and Protection, 



355 



SO will tlie advance of our rivals become continuously more rapid, 
and the market for the labor of the British workmen become from 
from day to day narrower and less remunerative. 

The following letter and tabulated wages statement aflPords very 
complete means of comparing English and Belgian rates of earn- 
ing ; 

AvoNsiDE Engine' Company (Limited), 

St. Philip's, Bristol, 
Decemher 14, 1866. 

Messrs. H. Herries Creed and Walter Williams, Jr., British 

Embassy, Brussels : 

Gentlemen : Your very interesting letter in the Times of the 
11th inst. has opened up a very important question, and one which, 
in the course of my vocation, has forced itself prominently upon my 
mind as requiring a distinct solution. 

I have been much abroad over the last ten years, and have de- 
livered many locomotive engines to the Continent ; but, dating 
back, say seven to eight years, have been rarely successful in com- 
peting for foreign supply of locomotives. Speaking generally, I 
slimdd say that a class of locomotive engines for which English 
builders have given in £2,700, has been taken by foreign houses 
{Belgian and French) at £2,340, the English price leaving a very 
moderate margin of profit. One of the great causes of difference 
is naturally wages, which are not only higher in England per day 
or week, but the days or weeks are abroad of longer duration. 
The week with us is 58 j hours ; at Manchester, 57|-/ ivhereas in 
France it is, I think, 65 hours — a difference of 10 per cent. Tlien 
there are the interferences of trades-unions, 8fc. If I have cor- 
rectly apprehended the nature and scope of your mission, the rates 
of wages will form an important element in your inquiries. I 
venture to forward my rates of wages paid to upwards of 900 men 
and boys, as a convenient form for comparison with those of foreign 
manufacturers ; for averages are quite useless, and an exact com- 
parison impossible, unless in some such form as that I have given. 
If it should come within the scope of your inquiry to elicit such 
facts as those contained in my enclosure, I should be very glad to 
have them placed before myself and fraternity, and leave it to your 
discretion to make use of the rates I have given in exchange for 
those which you may be able to obtain. In any case, I leave you 



2^6 Colonel Forney's Letters from Europe, 

an entire freedom in dealing with my facts. Wishing you every 
success, 

I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant, 

Edward Slaughter. 
P. S. — The main features of my form are, that the numbers as 
well as rates of wages are given for each class of men employed. 

It is unnecessary to continue these extracts, for the ordi- 
nary reader can easily perceive that while the writers 
attempted to conceal their object, their conclusion and 
remedy are as I have stated them, viz. : in keeping the work- 
ing people of England in complete ignorance, and in reducing 
their wages to the level of those of Belgium. But the great 
truth is nowhere admitted in this pamphlet that the reason 
why the working people of Belgium are happier than their 
English fellow-laborers, even under their reduced wages, is, 
because they enjoy more rights than the latter, and are 
allowed the advantages of a thorough common-school educa- 
tion. The comfort and happiness of the people of Belgium, 
compared with those of England, have -impressed every 
traveller, and it is doubtless owing to this fact that the 
Belgian manufacturers have been enabled successfully to 
> compete with their former irresistible English rivals. The 
authors of the pamphlet do not hesitate at the outrage of 
boldly charging the present prostration of business in Eng- 
land to the efforts of Mr Bright and other Liberal statesmen 
in favor of popular education, and to the combinations 
among the workingmen to protect themselves against still 
lower wages as the sequel of these efforts. A more candid 
confession would be that if England has fallen off in the great 
struggle for supremacy among the manufacturers of the 
world, it is because the poisoned chalice of free trade has 
been returned to her own lips. 

It is not the efforts of her people to protect themselves 
against still lower wages, or to insist upon better wages, 
nor yet the appeals of her enlightened statesmen for popu- 
lar education, that threaten to place and keep her in the 



Free Trade and Protection. ^ 357 

rear, hut because she has thrown open the doors to a fatal 
European competition. The question arises whether the 
United States is willing to follow an example which is here 
confessedly bringing ruin upon Great Britain ? There is 
but one of two remedies for the English manufacturers and 
nobility : either to guard themselves against foreign com- 
petition by a protective policy, or to reduce the loages of 
their workingmen to the Continental standard. And it is 
exactly this latter remedy that the pamphlet before me was 
prepared to favor. Mr. Bright and the Liberals propose a 
higher and a purer relief, that of elevating the people ; but 
this is indignantly rejected as the panacea of a false phi- 
•losophy. 

Meanwhile, is it not strange that with this extraordinary 
confession, circulated by thousands throughout England, 
the English free-traders should be appealing to the United 
States to adopt their principles? It is unnecessary for 
me to repeat my sincere sympathy with the laboring mil- 
lions of my own country, nor to add that I have at all 
times taken the initiative in sustaining their appeals, even 
when they assumed what others declared to be an unrea- 
sonable shape. I cannot, therefore, avoid directing their 
attention to these significant confessions, as not only a 
warning against allowing themselves to be misled by the 
arguments of the Democratic politicians at home who have 
engrafted these free-trade arguments into their own plat- 
form, but as an argument against all combinations which 
are not founded upon intrinsic justice. 



2S^ Colonel Forney s Letters from Eur op. 



LXT.— FOREIGN STEAMBOATS. 

STEAM-TRAVEL BY LAND AND SEA — INFERIOR EUROPEAN 

RIVER STEAMBOATS ANTWERP TO LONDON — THAMES 

STEAMBOATS — LOW FARES — MISERABLE CRAFT— LOWERING 
THE FUNNEL — NOISY NAVIGATION — FLIBBERTIGIBBET ON 
THE THAMES — SIGHTS ON THE RIVER — COSTLY BRIDGES — 
LONDON AND PARIS IMPROVEMENTS — THE SMOKE NUISANCE 
— STEAM-FERRIES ON THE MERSEY — A HINT TO BARNUM. 

Liverpool, August 31, 1867. 

If, as a general thing, we must concede the superiority 
of the English, French, and German railways and cars — 
always excepting the absence of those comforts which 
make travel on long lines so delightful in America, and 
especially the system by which you can take an imperial 
state-room at New York, and travel direct to Chicago, St. 
Louis, or even Leavenworth, in Kansas, enjoying the 
blessings of sound sleep and excellent refreshments, with- 
out leaving the train — there can be no comparison between 
European steamers and our own. If they surpass us in 
many respects on land, we leave them immeasurably be- 
hind on the water. Making all allowances for the fact, that 
they have no such interior lines of river communication as 
the Mississippi, the Missouri, and the Ohio, no intelligent 
traveller who has visited both hemispheres has failed to be 
impressed by the surpassing and exceptionless elegance and 
swiftness of our American steamers. Indeed, it is claimed 
that within a very few years, ocean travel will pass from 
British into American hands. All that is necessary to 
secure this desirable result is greater care in the building 
and greater caution in the commanding of these leviathans 
of the deep, by their American projectors and ofiScers. 



Foreign Steamboats, 359 

Nothing can be more miserable than the ferry or pleasure- 
boats on the Thames, the Seine, and the Mersey. I recalled 
the airy, graceful, and crowded vessels that cruise across 
and along the Delaware and Hudson, and the numerous 
other ferries on local streams, and I sought in vain for the 
slightest resemblance t© their rare advantages. The lack 
of these accommodations, painful as it was, would have 
been unaccountable if I had not recollected that the 
European masses cannot afford to travel as they do in our 
countr}^, and hence probably no company will undertake 
what might simply be an expensive experiment. 

The disparity is utterl3^ incomprehensible when you 
compare the steamers that run along the coast, corre- 
sponding with those between New York, Philadelphia, 
Boston, Baltimore, and the various sea-board towns North 
and South. Here at least every thing should be of the first 
order, because such enterprises, patronized by wealthy 
foreigners, ought to be very profitable ; but I think I speak 
for thousands when I say that nothing could be worse than 
the European method of river transportation. The Rhine 
steamers are almost beneath contempt. Crowded fre- 
quently to excess, the accommodations of all kinds are of 
the smallest and meanest. The boats themselves are 
diminutive and slow, and the refreshments inexcusably 
common. An American company, encouraged by the 
constant and increasing foreign travel (for little or nothing 
is gathered from the patronage of the natives), would rival 
some of the ornate private residences on the banks with 
the elegant and even gorgeous structures that would soon 
float along under their inspiration. 

I had an opportunity of trying an English coasting 
steamer from Antwerp to London. I assure you that 
nothing relieved the voyage from being disagreeable to the 
last but the splendid weather. Worse interior arrange- 
ments it was impossible to imagine. The ship itself was 
good enough, but who ^hall ever describe the horrors of 

23 



o 



bo Co/one/ FofHtixs Letters from Europe. 



the table, and the ronlly scandalous oonduet of the ser- 
vants ? Ende, careless, foul, they were tit ministers to one 
of thfe worst entertainments ever offered to man or beast. 
It was here that I saw the English character at its worst. 
We were the only Americans on board, and it seemed to 
give special delight to a number of the passengers to abuse 
our country in loud and offensive tones. Had Charles 
Dickens been present, I think I would have employed that 
graceful pen of his. long ago so facile in describing the 
shortcomings of Americans, to hold up to deserved repro- 
bation the shameless insolence of these ill-mannered 
•Englishmen. 

When we reached London we found the wharf opening 
into a stable, and this stable leading to an alley where the 
passengers were landed, and where they had to wait for 
more than an hour before they could secure conve3'ance to 
their hotels. How different from the splendid floating 
palaces that steam between our great cities, with their 
saloons, state-rooms, music, exquisite meals, attentive ser- 
vants, agreeable company, and moderate fares. 

The small steamboats, plying on the Thames, between 
TTestminster, which may be said to represent the aristo- 
cratic, and London Bridge, in the centre of the business 
locality of the metropolis, are so immensely profitable that 
the different companies that own them must be looked 
upon as extremely mean in not having better. They start 
every three minutes, at very low fares : many for two cents 
the whole trip, though some, familiarly called *' ha' penny 
boats." are still cheaper. These small boats might be 
called water-omnibuses, and are very much used, though it 
must be confessed that besides being mere coclde-shells in 
size and strength, they are filthy to a degree, and rather 
dangerons. from the general ignorance of their comman- 
ders. These boats have nothing like a cabin, unless a 
small, ill-lighted, badl3' ventilated^ and never- washed square 



Foreign Steamboats, 361 

orifice below deck, not much larger than the inside of a 
street omnibus, can be allowed that title. 

The passage " between the bridges," as the route from 
Westminster to London Bridge is designated, is not to be 
neglected, however, by the inquiring stranger, for it gives 
him the opportunity of observing not only the bridges but 
the wharves, on botli sides of the Thames, which river, 
throughout that line of transit, averages the width of the 
Schuylkill at the Market-street Bridge, in Philadelphia. 
If a little wider at some points, it is narrower at others. 

The course of the Thames for this extent is rather ser- 
pentine. The boats — under-sized, small-engined, and pad- 
dle-wheeled tubs — have their funnels so constructed that in 
passing under bridges they can be easily lowered ; a pro- 
cess which emits a vast quantity of thick smoke, none but 
bituminous coal being used -for the engines, which is the 
reverse of pleasant, palatable, or wholesome. There is a 
law providing that all the Thames steamboats shall con. 
sume their own smoke, but this seems to be " more honored 
in the breach than the observance." 

Another peculiarity of these small Thames steamers is 
the perpetual noise and tumult with which they are navi- 
gated. A passenger from Philadelphia to Camden, from 
Jersey City to New York, hears none of this noise, as he 
sits down in a handsome deck-cabin, on a comfortably- 
cushioned bench, lounge, or sofa. The Delaware and the 
Hudson are crossed, without any word of command being 
heard, the steering being done out of sight, signals so 
minute and noiseless that the passengers cannot per- 
ceive them, directing the men in charge when to slacken 
or advance speed, when to stop, at what moment to change 
the vessel's course, and precisely when to run her into her 
position at the pier, or the wharf But the commander of 
one of the cheap Thames' steamers stands on a bridge from 
paddle to paddle, during the whole of each trip, and, 
"looking a-head," gives his orders, by a motion of his 



362 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

hand, to an attendant, in the shape of a dwarfish boy^ who 
evidently is not likely to be personally affected by any in- 
crease of the tax upon soap, and, as his appearance would 
seem to intimate, probably sleeps, at nights, upon a bunk 
of ashes, or among the coal below. Quick of eye, sharp in 
mind, and distressingly loud in voice, this attendant-imp, 
the very Flibbertigibbet of Thames navigation, watches, 
catches, and interprets every motion of the hand which 
his master, " the Captain," makes. Accordingly, never 
taking his eyes from the ''' ancient mariner " on the little 
bridge, he shouts with a shrillness which is a trifle less 
piercing than that of a steam-whistle, certain phrases by 
which the man at the wheel, taking careful heed, guides 
the boat. ''E-saw," as the lad expresses it, means " Ease 
her," while " Sto-paw " may be interpreted " Stop her," and 
so on through a strange vocabulary of which only these 
two compounds have clung to my memory. 

Starting a little westward of London Bridge, which is 
the first artificial obstacle there reared by the power of man 
to oppose the onward progress of ocean-vessels into the 
heart of the country, the little steamers pass under South- 
wark, Blackfriars, Waterloo, Hungerford, and two suspen- 
sion bridges, before they reach Westminster. The sights 
in this journey are numerous. Beyond London Bridge 
looms the Tower, and not far from the point of departure 
the Monument points upwards, a memorial of the great 
fire, in the reign of Charles the Second. South wark, like 
London and Waterloo bridges, was erected from designs 
by an architect named Rennie. London Bridge is con- 
structed of Aberdeen granite, at a cost of $5,000,000. 
Southwark Bridge, including the expense of making the 
approaches, cost $4,000,000, and its three arches, made of 
cast-iron, span a clear water-way of six hundred and sixty 
feet ; the Thames being narrower at this point than at any 
other during its passage through what is called London, 
but actually consists of that city and of Westminster on 



Foreign Steamboats, i,^^ 

the north, and of Southwark ('' the Borough ") and Lambeth 
on the south of the Thames. Blackfriars Bridge is in 
course of erection, and is darkly overlooked by St. Paul's 
Cathedral, nearij'- half a mile distant. Waterloo Bridge, 
which Canova, the sculptor, said it was worth while visit- 
ing London expressly to see, is built of stone and cost over 
$5,000,000. Westminster Bridge, with the new Houses of 
Parliament on one side, and venerable Lambeth, the city- 
palace of the Archbishops of Canterbury on the other, has 
been finished only a short time, and is as solid, well-con- 
structed, and handsome as Waterloo. Between these two 
bridges is now in course of progress the immense and 
costly improvement known as the Thames embankment, 
whereby considerable space will be gained from the river, 
on each side of which a solid line of quays, constructed of 
granite, will be formed like the fine street which lines the 
banks of the Neva, in St. Petersburg ; but, compared with 
what Napoleon has done in Paris, during the fifteen years 
of his reign, London improvements must be considered 
comparatively slow and scant. It is accompanied, too, 
with the perpetual drawback of architectural beauties, how- 
ever great, being soon soiled and spoiled by what is called 
London smoke. In Paris, as in most of our American 
cities (I fear that Pittsburg has to be regarded as the 
usual exception. to the general rule), public buildings, monu- 
ments, and statues of white marble remain unsullied and 
uninjured by constant exposure to the atmosphere. In 
London, and indeed in every city and town in England, 
the smoke from the bituminous coal not only blackens 
marble or stone, but actually injures it — getting into its 
pores, so to say, and, by disintegrating the particles which 
compose its solidity, speedily decays it. Even such modern 
buildings as Buckingham Palace and the new Palace of 
Westminster (the Parliament House), are already in this 
transition state. The smoke, which holds acrid oxides 
in suspension, has got into their marble and stone, the 



364 Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

outer surface of whicli peels off in flakes. In fifty years, 
at the present rate of deterioration, all the beautiful and 
costly carvings on the Palace of Westminster will be un- 
distingnishable. To mitigate the evil, the outer walls of 
the two palaces have been saturated with a strong solution 
of silica, which is expected to arrest the progress of pre- 
mature decay. This is merely an experiment, the result 
of which cannot be known for some time. 

The local steamers on the Thames appear.almost innnmer- 
able. The city route extends from Richmond to Woolwich 
(a little lower down than Greenwich), and, owing to the 
windino's of the river, this route is eiohteen miles Ions;. 
The fare is twelve cents, but for shorter intermediate dis- 
tances, it graduates from that amount down to two cents. 
The various city steamboats usually ply from sunrise 
until after dark. From London Bridge to Gravesend, the 
entrance of the port of London, a distance of thirty miles, 
there is at least one boat everj^ hour, running the distance 
in two hours, at a shilling per head. A few of these boats 
have sixty-horse engines, and are fitted up with some re- 
gard to neatness, cleanliness, and comfort. From London 
Bridge Wharf to Margate, Ramsgate, Deal, and Dover, 
popular summer-resorts by the sea-side, numerous vessels 
start every forenoon, and are fitted up (on a small scale, 
it is true) as floating-taverns. Some of the Londoners 
have a fond idea that these are rather superior to our 
magnificent steam-palaces on the Mississippi, and fancy 
that an American who tells them the latter are six times 
larger must be quizzing them or drawing the long-bow. 
Though the steam ferr^'-boats between Liverpool and the 
line of towns and villages on the opposite Cheshire side of 
the river Mersey are only a shade better than the miserable 
penny boats on the Thames, no native resident in this 
great commercial town appears to have any idea that they 
are very badly adapted for their purpose. This is the usual 
way with the English. They think every thing of their own 



Foreign Capital. i^f)C^ 

as good as can be required, and are slow in making changes, 
even ■ when these are certain to be valuable improvements. 
If Mr. Barnum should at any time desire to astonish the 
good people of Liverpool (who have given themselves 
the inexplicable title of "Dickey Sams"), let him take a 
Brooklyn and New York steam ferry-boat or such a Dela- 
ware river steamer as the "Edwin Forrest," lay her along- 
side of St. George's Pier, announcing that thi^ was 
thence to convey passengers to Birkenhead; Woodside, 
Seacombe, Eastham, or New Brighton (all opposite Liver- 
pool), and the general belief would be that instead of a 
ferry-boat he had brought over . an ocean steamer, with 
which he was attempting to *' humbug " the English I 



LXII.— FOREIGN CAPITAL. 

CAPITAL COMING WESTWARD — OPPORTUNITY FOR PROFITABLE 
INVESTMENT — FREE TRADE A FAILURE — EDUCATION AND 
COMPETITION. 

LiVEKPOOL, August 22, 1867. 

Plenty of money, a wealthy aristocracy, languid manu- 
factures, and a discontented working population, are the 
public aspects that demand the consideration of the 
British statesman. Add to these the necessity for con- 
stant military preparation, and the chances of a general 
European war, and you have some idea of the situation 
of affairs. When capital, fearing foreign investments, is 
almost exclusively expended upon home or domestic enter- 
prises of all kinds, you have an explanation of the extra- 
ordinary durability of the British railroads and all other 
public improvements, including the magnificent buildings 
connected with them. You look with wonder upon these 



J 66 Colonel Forneys Letters from Europe, 

massivo oombhititions, and 3n")iir wonder increases when 
you are told that manj* of them have been most unpro- 
ductive, and not a tew of them ruinous. Continental 
Europe, full of excitements of all kinds, offers no tempta- 
tions to the owners of these enormous fortunes, and there 
is but one country to which they can look with any ordi- 
nary expectation of any sure returus. I mean, of course, 
the United States. That the Tory aristocracy hate our 
country is a truth unnecessary to deny, but that men of 
lariic wealth in the United Kingdom are directly interested 
in the preservation of our Government, is just as true as 
that they are dissatistied with the present European rates 
of interest and prices of money. No English traveller in 
the United States, since the Avar, has tailed to come to the 
conclusion that he Avho desires to invest his nionc}^ with a 
view to safety as well as prolit should encourage our secu- 
rities, national and corporate. Therefore it is that the 
Pennsylvania Central, the Illinois Central, the New York 
Central Railroads, and the stocks and bonds of the general 
Government, are almost as carefully looked after as the 
consols themselves. Facts like tliese go further than free- 
trade theories, especially in the face of the alarmmg 
poverty, vice and dissatisfaction of the millions who con- 
tribute to the profits of the British manulacturers. Free 
trade is noM' proving itself not only to be a tailure, but 
a calamitous tailure to those who clamored most loudly 
for it, and it only needed the elforts of Mr. Bright and his 
friends in tavor of public education, which can never bo 
enforced without destroying a system that rests mainly 
upon the ignorance of the toiling people, and the success- 
ful competition of the Belgian manufacturers, whose low 
wages are simply tolerated because the government contrib- 
utes to the intelligence of the workinginen — it only 
needed this double experience to show that the gigantic 
fortunes of England must look elsewhere for compensa- 
t ion. 



Homeward Bound. 367 



LXIII.— IIOMEWAED BOUND. 

OCEAN STEAMERS — THE IRON VESSELS — EMIGRATIOxN" — CUNARD 
MAIL LINE — RECEIPTS AND PROEITS — THE CARRYING TRADE 
— AMERICAN ENTERPRISE — SUNDAY AT SEA — ADVANTAGE 
OF FOREIGN TRAVEL — LOVE OF COUNTRY. 

Royal Mail Steamer Persia, Beptemler 1, 1867. 

Any one who has ever felt like questioning the fact that 
a locomotive engine is among the marvellous creations of 
human skill, should study the mammotli machines which 
I)ropel immense ocean-steamers like the Scolia and Persia. 
There is something awful in this ponderous iron anatomy 
as it throbs and sobs in the bosom of these huge levia- 
thans. You have only to know that the engine of the 
Persia works up to three thousand horse-power, consumes 
one hundred tons of coal daily, and employs sixty-two en- 
gineers, firemen, and laborers, to form some idea of its 
enormous dimensions and capacities. All this mass of 
metal and of men, with seventeen hundred tons of coal 
(at the starting), is hidden away from the passengers, who, 
however they may long to reach their destination, and 
watch the hourly record of ocean travelled, rarely take the 
pains of descending into the Plutonian caves to see and study 
the stupendous triumph of human genius which is driving 
a ship of three thousand four hundred tonnage through the 
stormy and treacherous sea. On my outward voyage I 
frequently conversed with the chief engineer of the Scotia, 
and it has not been one of the least interesting ways of 
lessening the anxious and weary hours of my homeward 
passage to study the tremendous " works" of the Persia. 
And well have I been repaid for my pains. You have fre- 
quently, on shore, passed a forge, with its great hammers 



^6S Colonel Forney's Letters from Europe, 

and red flames and half-naked men, looking like fiends 
cooking some infernal alchemy. Imagine a fiery labora- 
tory like this, at ceaseless labor, day and night, in the 
bosom of one of these fioating palaces, and you will have 
some conception of the perils of a modern steam voj^age, 
and of the extraordinary experience and courage demanded 
of the oflScers of a steamship like the Persia. The im- 
mense composite of wood and iron, in which I am now 
writing these lines, rests upon an under or outerplating 
of iron, not more than a quarter of an inch thick, and the 
heavy engine itself whirls its remorseless rounds and 
burns its unceasing flames between these thin partitions ! 
I confess to an involuntary shudder when the friendly 
chief-engineer reminded me, as I walked through his sub- 
terranean quarters, and saw his men torturing the intense 
furnaces with their long tongs and feeding those insatiate 
craters with incessant feasts of coal, that we were within 
a second of the whales, sharks, sword-fish, and other 
humane citizens of the deep ! Yet ocean travel is now not 
only safer and swifter, but a thousand times healthier, 
than it was in the days of exclusive sailing vessels. In 
those days the poor emigrants sufi'ered unimaginable hor- 
rors. Packed away like herrings in tiers, and fed on the 
poorest rations, they were subjected to all the distress of a 
long and tedious voyage, and landed disheartened, foul, 
and sick. Their general condition was not much better 
than that of the stolen Africans in the floating baracoons 
which convej'ed them into endless servitude. Now, thanks 
to steam and the vigorous laws of the American Govern- 
ment, the emigrant buys his passage to Philadelphia for 
about twenty-five dollars, in good, stout steamers, and at 
the end. of about two weeks lands at our wharves, clean, 
happy, and well, ready to take the Pennsylvania Central 
cars for his new and independent home in the far-ofl" West. 
This incalculable advantage is even greater to those who 
take the lines that do not carry emigrants. But regarded 



Homeward Bound, 369 

simplj^ for its effects upon civilization in the transportation 
of these new citizens of our Republic, apart from a thou- 
sand other blessings, the invention of steam has become 
an irresistible evangelizer. 

The Cunard Royal Mail Line has now been twenty-seven 
years in existence, and I chronicle its great prosperity in 
the hope that our people, particularly those of Philadelphia, 
will accept the fact as the best argument for the commence- 
ment of a thorough competition for that priceless trade 
which should be controlled, as it is mainly contributed to, 
by Americans. The Cunard company bought four ships to 
start with, and they are now the owners of twenty-four 
splendid ocean steamers, built out of their large profits, after 
paying splendid dividends to the stockholders. As a speci- 
men of their prosperity take the present cargo. We have on 
board two hundred and eighteen first-class passengers, who 
pay one hundred and fifty-five dollars apiece, making a total 
of $33,790 in gold. The freight is estimated at nearly 
$10,000. In addition, they receive some $9,000 for carrying 
the mail (which is included in their annual subsidy from the 
British Government). Their expenses are about $15,000 the 
single trip, not more. These figm-es, nearly exact, foot up a 
very large profit. It is only necessary to add that at least 
two hundred of our two hundred and eighteen passengers are 
Americans, to show whence these gains are derived. Now, 
while it is true that the English can build ocean steamers 
for much less money than the Americans, owing to their 
cheap and mainly pauper labor, and the ease of obtaining 
money at low interest, we must not forget that the carrying 
trade between Europe and the United States must in a few 
years be greater than it has ever been. The English, Ger- 
mans, and French have so much confidence in these auafu- 
ries that they are rapidly building steamers to anticipate 
this trade. The overthrow of our rebellion, the success of 
free labor in the South, the unsettled condition of Europe, 
the anxiety of capitalists for sure investments, and the 



370 Colonel Forney* s Letters from Europe, 

constant increase of emigration, are as clear to them as to 
us, and indeed clearer than to many bigoted politicians, who 
refuse to admit and to take advantage of the glorious 
destiny of their country. The British Government, feeling 
that the Cunard line needs no more ''protection," in view 
of such a future, have decided to withdraw the annual sub- 
sidy of nearly a million of dollars on the 1st of January, 
1868, and thus give a new invitation to competition. A 
grave question is here presented to our statesmen, whether 
the whole of the American trade shall be carried by foreign 
ships ; and I hope the next session of Congress will grap- 
ple with it. There are many ways by which our ship- 
builders may be encouraged to resume the proud position 
they occupied before the war. Meanwhile these facts 
ought to be carefully weighed by the merchants of Phila- 
delphia. They should not wait a moment. A bold and 
compreh.ensive movement will not only restore them their 
lost commercial supremacy, but arm them with the mastery 
of a future commercial position. AVhen I think of the 
dazzling destiny that will reward their great enterprise, the 
Pennsylvania Central, and remember that New York city 
is reaping almost millions by our loss of these means of in- 
tercourse with foreign countries, it seems impossible that 
Philadelphia should longer stand in the gateway of her 
grandeur, only to help others forward to the ascendancy 
which belongs to herself. 

The American ocean steamers Fulton and Arago have 
lately become very popular, and have made quick and suc- 
cessful trips. Many of our passengers, who have tried 
them, compare them favorably with the Persia, and insist 
that they are superior in several important particulars. 
The Inman and the French and English lines are running 
nearly full ; but ail these facts only show the necessity of 
more domestic competition, and the eagerness of foreigners 
to monopolize trade that ought to be mainly in our hands. 
The subject is one, indeed, of national consequence, and 



Homeward Bound, ^yi 

concerns more cities than Philadelphia and more States 
than Pennsylvania. We should strain every nerve to re- 
cover the carrying trade we lost by the rebellion. The 
very fear of England and France that we may recover it, is 
perhaps the best reason why we should address ourselves 
instantly to the duty Congress can do much ; and I have 
no hesitation in saying that the most generous aid should 
be extended to those who are willing to embark in new 
American lines of ocean steamers. Call it what you please 
— protection or subsidy — we have only to remember that 
the free-trade nations always protect their great interests 
when it is necessary, and that by. a liberal policy in this 
respect we not only revive great international enterprises, 
but by doing so gratify a large influence that has loudly com- 
plained that domestic manufactures have been benefited while 
commerce has been crippled. 

September 4. — The Persia is steaming towards ^NTew York 
as I close this letter, though not my correspondence. If 
any thing can make a sea voyage tolerable to those who are 
eager to return to their native land, the general comforts 
and safety of such a ship as the Persia, and the kind 
relations of a company of well-bred passengers, would be 
sufficient. We have many pleasant and several very dis- 
tinguished people on board. Hon. Justin S. Morrill, Sen- 
ator in Congress from Yermont ; Hon. James Gr. Blaine, 
Representative from Maine ; W. C. Bryant, editor of the 
New York Evening Post , the eminent physician, Professor 
Eordyce Barker, of New York ; William Bond, Esq., vice- 
president of the celebrated Almaden Quicksilver Mining 
Company of California ; and Mrs. H. N. Beers, authoress 
of the renowned Sunday-School Hymns, are among the 
number. On Sunday, English service in the ladies' cabin 
was attended by nearly all the passengers and crew, and 
the well-pronounced sermon of Rev. Addison B. Atkins, 
the esteemed Episcopal clergyman at Germantown, Phila- 
delphia, was full of practical reflections, fitted to the times 



37^ Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe, 

and the occasion. Captain Lott, of the Persia, is a genuine 
English seaman, frank and generous, yet full of honest 
prejudices, which he does not attempt to conceal. With 
the present trip he has crossed the ocean three hundred and 
forty-five times, commencing his service on the Cunard 
line, twenty-four years ago. He has sailed the Persia for 
some eleven years, and never had a serious accident. Like 
the veterans of his school, he has in this long experience 
seen danger in many shapes, and mingled with all sorts of 
people. Seated at the head of his table in the main saloon, 
or giving the word of command on his upper deck, he is 
like a king on his throne, and possesses more absolute 
power than many who claim to rule their fellows ; and if 
he speaks with oracular force in the social dining-room, it 
is because he is accustomed to be obeyed. 

The inquiries of American statesmen in Europe have 
always resulted in good. From the beginning of the Gov- 
ernment, our leading minds have regarded a knowledge of 
foreign habits and doctrines an essential part of political 
education. Franklin, Jefferson, and Adams spent a con- 
siderable period in Europe when the passage was long and 
dangerous ; and the great men of the succeeding genera- 
tions, Clay, Randolph, Webster, Yan Buren, and Winfield 
Scott, found much that deserved to be seen and remem- 
bered in their foreign travels. Now that a sea voyage is 
much easier, cheaper, and quicker, there is hardly an excuse 
for any thoughtful American refusing to follow these illus- 
trious examples. Senators Morrill and Sherman, and Rep- 
resentatives Washburne (of Illinois) and Blaine (of Maine), 
and others, have made good use of their time abroad, and 
have collected much useful data bearing on important in- 
terests ; they will appear at the November session not only 
in better health, but better prepared to sustain the great 
Republican cause. 

There is something significant in the general anxiety to 
get to New York ; but, common as it is in those who have 



Homeward Bound, 373 

long been absent, it is interesting now as proving that love 
of country is as fervent as ever in the American heart. 
We have a number of Southern people on board, and not a 
few who helped the rebellion; but, though some of the 
females show a silly dislike of " the Yankees," and occa- 
sionally drop a taunt against "the nigger," they are gen- 
erally free to say that their foreign experience has only 
made them prouder of their country. Indeed, as I have 
repeatedly said, the best way to make an American more 
loyal is to give him a fair insight into European society, 
the vices and intolerance of the aristocratic and wealthy, 
and the despair and wretchedness of the poor. I have not 
met an American resident anywhere in England or on the 
Continent who does not either express exulting pride in 
our Government and example, or look forward to the day 
when he shall dwell and die in the land of his fathers. 
Even the expatriated rebel leaders, with a few contemptible 
exceptions, express the same sentiment. Men have never 
been so heavily punished for a causeless crime. I have not 
met one of them who did not look as if he had drained the 
cup of sorrow, if not of repentance, to the dregs. Bitterly 
indeed have they realized their offence, and in nothing so 
much as in the heartlessness of foreign sympathy for men 
in distress. A stranger in a strange land, without money 
or friends, presents a picture feeble in comparison with the 
present condition of these exiled secessionists. And if I 
were their most envenomed foe, I should say that they 
have been sufficiently punished. I do not, I cannot sj^eak 
of them with bitterness, when their miseries and their 
confessions awaken all my humanity. And you may be 
sure their experience has not been lost upon those who fol- 
lowed, nor yet upon those who disdained their counsel. 
So that if my brief absence from home had been pro- 
ductive only of the reflections suggested by the situation 
of these misguided men, it would have been well employed. 
But I hope it has been more profitable. It has convinced 



374 Colonel Forney s Letters fro?n Europe, 

me that every intelligent American should visit the Old 
World at least once in his lifetime ; and I have not hesi- 
tated to advise every intelligent foreigner I have met to 
see and study our country in return. Those who have vis- 
ited us must go back as much surprised and enlightened as 
I have been by my short experience. Others need not fear 
the contrast. While they will gather much they could not 
glean from books, and unlearn many prejudices, the Euro- 
pean who visits our country will be equally rewarded by a 
candid and careful examination of our people and our in- 
stitutions. 



Conclusion, 375 



CONCLUSIOK 

I had some idea of the feelings of one who had been 
absent from home and friends for a long time, as, on the 
4th of September, 186T, I caught the first glimpse of the 
stars and stripes floating from the quarantine grounds, 
when the Pei^sia gracefully and rapidly neared the beau- 
tiful scenery and handsome country-houses that make an 
ocean entrance to New York so agreeable to the traveller. 
The broad and heaving bay, shining in the rays of the 
autumnal sun, busy with outgoing and incoming ships, was 
not unlike the Irish Channel when, on the lovely morning 
of the 10th of May last, we approached the town of Liver- 
pool. But the emotions with which first I beheld the 
British coast were of a far different character. Four 
months had been the limits of my wanderings, and much 
as I had witnessed, and greatly as I was instructed in that 
short period, I was as happy in my return as if these 
months had been j^ears. And, although a trip to Euroi)e 
is a far more profitable lesson to a thorough American than 
such an experience was during the war, or even before the 
war, for that very reason the American who now studies 
the people and the institutions of the old countries is sure 
to come back to his own with his patriotism confirmed and 
his affections increased. As I have attempted to show in 
these desultory letters, indifference to or ignorance of the 
United States was the prevailing sentiment in Europe 
before our terrible struggle for self-preservation startled 
mankind to a keen sense of our existence, and awakened a 
keener curiosity to understand our system of government. 
Hundreds — the Aristocracy — hated us, and thousands — the 
People — loved us ; and, although the hate of the one origi- 
nated in fear that our example might prevail, and the love 
24 



37^' Colonel Forney s Letters from Europe. 

of the other in the undefined idea that the success of that 
example would be their deliverance, yet it was painful to 
noj^ice how comparatively little was known of the United 
States until slavery flew to arms and failed to overcome 
our free institutions. The ever-present sense of the fact 
that we are now generally, if not universally, appreciated, 
adds a rare savor to an American's experience in Europe* 
It was something to realize that if our republicanism was 
in a large degree the reproduction of the best of the old 
philosophies, the success with which we have adapted 
and improved those philosophies was gladly recognized 
and seized upon as the happy harvest of indestructible 
truth. The seed has produced not ten, but ten thousand 
fold, and it is wonderful how public opinion in Europe, 
alike the leaders who follow and the tyrants who fear it, 
has gathered hope and courage in the light of American 
triumphs. Had the conspiracy of the slave-traitors been 
crowned with success, human freedom everywhere would 
have been fatally postponed. There would have been no 
Reform Bill in England, by which more than half a million 
have been added to the voting population — no prospect of 
relief from the nameless horrors prevailing in the agricul- 
tural and manufacturing districts of that country — and no 
hope for Ireland. Switzerland would have been absorbed 
by the surrounding monarchies ; Italy, falling a prey to her 
internal dissensions, would have been crushed under the 
weight of her colossal debt ; Germany would have relapsed 
into a vast military power; Russia would never have 
emancipated her serfs ; and France would have become the 
victim of ultimate revolution and absolute rule. 

But, as we dwell upon the fact that the triumph of the 
Union arms has given our country a new influence, and has 
contributed incalculably to the encouragement and eleva- 
tion of our fellow-creatures everywhere, are we not our- 
selves in the forefront of another peril, even more perilous 
than the rebellion itself? If, in presenting ourselves to 



Conclusion, 2II 

other nations as the best living example of free government, 
our toleration of and exaltation in human slavery subjected 
us to the jeers of the despot, and to the reproaches of the 
philantrophist, how long can we expect to retain a potential 
sway over the minds of men, if, having destroyed physical 
servitude, we hesitate to complete our mission ; and, fear- 
ing to punish the murderous rebel, deliberately doom four 
millions of loyal citizens to a new and still more humiliating 
degradation ? This was the question which I asked myself 
as, on landing in New York, I found the great political 
party, which had chiefly assisted our brave soldiers to con- 
quer a gigantic treason amid the admiration and amaze- 
ment of mankind, in another and still more desperate 
struggle with the same enemy for the preservation of the 
fruits of their perseverance and fortitude. When this im- 
portant question is finally solved we shall then really un- 
derstand whether Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. 
Grant on the 9th of April, 1865, or whether Ulysses S. 
Grant surrendered to Robert E. Lee. 

J. W. P. 



ADDENDA, 



LETTBES BY J. W» FOKNEY, Je 



THE TIMES OFFICE. 

LABYRINTHINE APPROACH — IMPOSING-ROOM — TELEGRAMS — PROOF-READ- 
ING COMPOSING-ROOM — OLD-FASHIONED CASES — EDITORS AND RE- 
PORTERS LIBRARY — RESTAURANT — SICK-FUND NOT IN THE UNION 

COMPOSITORS' EARNINGS STEREOTYPING PAPER-WETTING MA- 
CHINE — PRESSES — STEAM-ACTION MACHINES — KONIG AND APPLEGATH 

hoe's LIGHTNING PRESS — CIRCULATION OP " THE TIMES" ECONOMY 

— PRIVATE TELEGRAPH LINE. 

London, June 2, 1867. 

I left the Langham Hotel last Friday Light, shortly before 
eleven o'clock, on a visit to the office of that world-renowned 
newspaper, the London Times. This establishment is situated 
in Printing-House Square, between St. Paul's Cathedral and 
Blackfriars Bridge, and the approach to it is through a number of 
narrow dark lanes. It is, indeed, as the guide-book says, " One of 
the most labyrinthine recesses to be seen in London." My friend 
and myself rode therein a " Hansom," for to have attempted to j5nd 
it ourselves would have been a waste of time. Armed with a 
card from Mr. John Walter (who holds the largest number of 
shares, and owns the entire printing office and machinery), without 
which none are admitted, we presented ourselves at the small door 
of a very old building, and handed that card to a person seated be- 
hind a desk. After carefully examining it, he carried it into an 
adjoining apartment, and presently returned with one of the under 
managers. It was evident that Mr. Walter had left word that we 
should be shown through the office, and have every thing ex- 
plained to us. 

We were told that we were now in '* the imposing-room," or 

(379) 



380 Letters from Europe, 

room in whicli the forms of The Times are made up. This apart- 
ment is on the ground floor, and is entirely separate from the 
composing-room, which is in the fifth story. The door from the 
street, or rather lane, opens directly into the imposing-room. At 
one end of this room the advertisements are imposed, and at the 
other the news. The imposing, as The Times stereotypes, is done 
upon stones, and in flat chases. Of these stones there are eight — 
one for each page of the journal proper. Upon long tables, 
stretched across the room, were placed galleys filled with such 
advertisements received that day as could not appear the follow- 
ing morning. Each galley may be called a column, and as there 
were forty-eight galleys, that number of columns of fresh paying 
advertisements were left over for the purpose of "getting in" the 
news. There were doubtless besides these many galleys of mis- 
cellaneous items, which had also to be postponed. In this lower 
room all the telegraphic news is received, and after passing 
through the hands of a gentleman who takes an account of it, it is 
sent up stairs to the edi.tors, who prepare it for and send it to the 
foreman in the composing-room. It is then put in type, proved, 
read in the reading-room, corrected, revised again, again read and 
then sent down by a machine in galleys to the imposing-room. 
Every line which appears in The Times is read by proof-readers, of 
whom there are eight, six or seven times, before it is considered 
ready for the forms. Notwithstanding all this care, errors will 
now and then creep in. An old printer is therefore especially 
employed, whose duty it is to read the entire newspaper each 
morning, and to report every typographical mistake. The proofs 
are then examined, the authors of the blunders fined, and the 
amount thus obtained placed to the credit of the " sick-fund," of 
which more presently. 

Nearly the whole of The Times newspaper, comprising usually 
seventy-two broad columns, or about 17,500 lines, is reset every 
day, and for that purpose over one hundred compositors are em- 
ployed. The composing-room is, as I said before, on the fifth story. 
It is neither very large nor well ventilated. In fact, this important 
feature cannot in any way bear comparison with the large, airy 
apartment devoted to the same use by the Philadelphia Peess. 
The men of this London journal work at the old-fashioned wooden 
stands and cases, and without the newly-invented brass galleys. I 
could not but mark the comparison between the clumsy, woru-out 



The Times Office. 381 

affairs all around, and the light and suitable metallic ones in use in 
the office of The Pkess, at Philadelphia. The reading-room is on 
the same floor with the composing-room. There are in it two long 
tables, running from side to side, at which the proof-readers and 
copy-holders sit. V/hen we entered all were at work, and though 
many were reading aloud no one interrupted another. There is a 
head proof-reader, whose word here is law. 

The Times employs eighteen reporters, and a corresponding 
number of editors. The reporters' apartment is large, well fur- 
nished, and well lighted, and is altogether a model of its kind. 
Desks are placed around the wall, and at each seat there is a gas 
jet and shade. In the centre is a table for various uses. In this 
room is the library, in which can be found files of the newspaper 
since the first number — edited, published, and owned by the grand- 
father of the present proprietor — appeared in 1788. These files 
are neatly bound in yearly volumes. 

A restaurant is connected with the establishment, and food is 
cooked there for all the attaches — i. e., for three hundred persons. 
Every thing save beer is sold at cost price. Here many of the 
employes take all their meals. They are not, however, required 
to do so. The restaurant has two rooms — one on the ground floor 
and one adjoining the reporters' quarters. The former is for the 
use of the compositors, pressmen, feeders, boys, &c., and the latter 
for editors, reporters, and heads of the different departments. In 
the lower saloon the charges or bills are paid with little cards, 
upon which is written what each person has had, and the amount 
is taken out of his wages at the end of the week. The persons in 
charge of the eating-rooms are compelled to show a weekly bal- 
ance, and if they cannot they must give their reasons. The 
profit is put to the credit of the sick-fund. 

Here let me explain what is meant by the Sick-Fund. Tlie Times 
can be said to rear its own workmen, some of whom have been in 
the ofiice thirty years, the majority of them twenty, and one of them 
forty. They come there when young, and remain until old, or in 
some cases until they die. Each is com_pelled to agree to three 
things: First. That he will keep an account at a savings' fund, 
and will produce it and allow it to be looked over at any time the 
proprietor of The Times or his manager may desire to see it. 
Second. That he will subscribe to the Medicine Fund. (This fund 
provides the hands with a doctor when they are sick.) Third. 



382 Letters from Europe, 

That lie will also subscribe to the Sick-Fund. (This fund is for the 
purpose of maintaining- those unable to work on account of illness.) 
The above, it should be understood, does not apply to either 
the editors or reporters, though many of them can also be said 
to have been brought up in the office. Whether or not this system 
is a correct or just one, I will leave to the reader to determine. 

Although there is a Printers' Union throughout England, not 
one of its members is at work in this office. In the time of the 
father of the present Mr. Walter, an attempt was made by his 
compositors to have the rules of the Union enforced in his office. 
The attempt failed. The tj^pos of Tlie Times are, however, paid 
better than those of any other establishment in Lond6n ; and when 
I state that a first-rate compositor cannot make over five pounds 
(twenty-five dollars) a week, it will be readily seen that, as the 
rates of living here are almost if not quite as high as in the large 
cities of the United States, our American printers receive much 
more for their labor. The amount stated above is not, be it under- 
stood, the average pay, but the highest which can be made in one 
week, and is only realized by four or five. The compositors are 
not paid here by the thousand, as with us, but by the line, and 
one man was pointed out to me at Tlie Times office as a wonder 
because he could set fifty lines of minion an hour. 

The stereotyping apartment is immediately adjoining the press- 
room, and as the process differs very little from that of my own 
country, it would be useless to describe it. Suffice it to say, that 
I do not think a plate is obtained here quite as quickly as at home. 
The type from which The Times is now printed has been in use 
eight years, and has never been touched by the press, and will 
from all appearances last ten years longer. I carefully examined 
it in the form, and failed to discover a letter the least damaged. 
This establishment claims to have been the first to stereotype. 

The Times does not manufacture its own paper, but is supplied 
by four of the largest mills in Great Britain on condition that the 
mill furnishing the best quality, at the most reasonable rates, shall 
receive the largest order. The paper is sent to the office in large 
stacks, each containing ten thousand sheets. The sheets are held 
together by a board at the top and bottom, and fastened by stout 
ropes. The wetting-machine is a curiosity, and unlike any thing 
of the kind I have ever seen or heard of in America. It may be 
called an invention of The Times. It will wet in twelve hours from 



The Tmes Office. 383 

one liundred and forty tlionsand to one hundred and forty-six 
thousand sheets. % 

There are four presses — two of R. Hoe & Co.'s patent, New 
York (ten cylinders), and two made by Applegath, an Englishman. 
The Hoe presses were manufactured, according to a date upon 
them, in 1858, by G. J. Whitworth & Co., Manchester, England, 
who are or were entitled to make them by virtue of some arrange- 
ment with the patentee. These presses, having been built in 1858, 
have none of the recent great improvements which can be seen 
upon the wonderful machine a short time ago set up in the office of 
the Philadelphia Press, or upon those elsewhere erected within 
the last two or three years. It might be well, while upon this 
subject, to say that no press built by the Hoe Company exactly 
resembles any previous one. The AjDplegath machines are un- 
sightly affairs, and compare in appearance with those of America 
as a rough cart-horse compares with the thoroughbred, graceful 
racer. Neither are they as reliable, as fast, or as unlikely to get 
out of repair as those of which we are proud that an American 
invented and brought to their present perfect state. The Times 
people understand all this, and give the race-horse the larger share 
of the labor. For instance, the night we were there the outside or 
four advertising pages were being "worked off," and the Hoe 
presses were doing it, while those of Applegath stood silently by, 
as if looking on and envying their more powerful neighbors. The 
Applegath presses have no " flies," and as the printed sheets come 
off they are received and piled up by hand. 

The Times was the first journal printed on a steam-propelled 
machine. As far back as the year 1790, Mr. Nicholson, editor of 
the Philosophical Journal, in London, took out a patent for what 
much resembled cylinder-printing. This was followed by the sub- 
stitution of inking rollers to supersede the old process of inking 
by stuffed bails. In 1804, Mr. Konig, a German mechanic, went to 
London, and produced a small machine, in which were combined 
the cylinders and the inking-rollers, and, on exhibiting this to the 
first Mr. Walter, that gentleman engaged him to erect two machines 
for printing The Times by steam-power, and supplied the necessary 
funds. In The Times of November 28, 1814, an announcement 
appeared that the number of the journal for that day was the first 
ever printed by steam-propelled machinery. The new press pro- 
duced 1,800 umpressions an hour, a great improvement on the 



384 Letters from Europe, 

former printing by hand at a common press, whereby 300 sheets 
per hour were printed on one side. In 1827, Messrs. Cowper and 
Applegath invented a four-cylinder machine which was erected in 
The T^mes office, and immediately superseded Konig's two machines, 
which were taken down, and printed from 4,000 to 5,000 sheets 
per hour. In 1848, the present Applegath vertical machine, which 
I have already mentioned, was erected, and, though clumsy in ap- 
pearance, produced 10,000 impressions per hour. By Hoe's ten- 
cylinder machine as many as 20,000 copies of a newspaper can be 
printed in an hour, and by taking a stereotype cast of the forms 
when ready for press, which can be done in a few minutes, two 
sets of t^T^pes can be produced, from which the impression can be 
duplicated. 

The circulation of The Times is about fifty thousand copies 
daily. The paper is generally made up in twelve large pages, but, 
during the parliamentary session, when reports of the debates 
occupy much space, what is called " a double Times," consisting 
of sixteen pages, is generally printed thrice a week. The price of 
a single copy of The Times is three pence (six cents), but it cannot 
pass through any post-office unless it have on it a two cent stamp 
or the ordinary " Queen's head." The " outside " or advertising 
pages go to press shortly after ten, the second about half-past two, 
the third and last about half-past four, and not long after seven 
the whole edition is ofiP. Each press has its own pressman. The 
boilers, of which there are four, and the two engines, were all built 
in England. Two boilers and one engine are used ; the remainder 
are kept in case of accident. The engines are upright and are 
together about seventy horse-power. A machine shop is attached 
to the office, where all the necessary repairs are made. Printers' 
ink, which in most newspaper establishments is scattered so pro- 
fusely around, is here kept altogether out of the way. It is re- 
ceived in barrels, taken to a small partitioned-off compartment in 
the cellar, and, as required, emptied into a metal box, whence it is 
passed, when wanted, directly into the fountains of the presses. 

The great system throughout the entire establishment is what 
most surprised me. Nothing is allowed to go to waste. A card 
is kept by the different pressmen, and on it is marked the cause of 
any spoiled sheet — whether it was the fault of the paper-maker, 
the feeder, or the press. The very rags with which the machinery 
is wiped are counted, and those who use them cannot receive clean 



The Times Office. 385 

ones until they return the dirty ones. The latter are then washed 
by a washing-machine in the office, and it is said that this small 
operation saves yearly one hundred and fifty pounds. The Times 
appears every morning, Sundays excepted, and prints no evening 
edition. Portions of it have been made up, for many years, into a 
tri-weekly called The Evening Mail, which has a large country cir- 
culation, but this will soon cease to be printed at or issued from 
The Times office. 

I have now, I think, given you all the main points connected with 
the publication of one of the most prominent and influential news- 
papers in the world. There is one fact concerning the journals of 
Europe which may seem somewhat strange to the American 
reader, which I will mention without comment : the editors are 
always invisible while at the office, not receiving people as readily 
as we do. And another : no London journal displays so much 
energy and enterprise in procuring news as the newspapers of even 
the interior cities of the United States. The Atlantic cable, which 
was put down at so great an expense, is almost entirely ignored 
by the London papers, and little other telegraphic matter appears 
in their pages. Where they print lines we publish columns. The 
reason of this is evidently the expense ; nothing more. They 
show that they feel an interest In matters abroad by their great 
number of foreign correspondents. Steam is cheaper than elec- 
tricity. We use both. 

Mr. McDonald, the business manager of The Times, is a gentle- 
man of great ability and tact, and has our thanks for kindness 
shown us when we visited this wonderfully systematized printing 
house. 

I had almost neglected to mention that telegraph lines run into 
The Times office — one from what we would call the Associated 
Press, and the other from the House of Commons. The former is 
used for the transmission of news. It saves time, and the cost 
and the uncertainty of an errand-boy. The other is not to send 
reports of the proceedings of Parliament, but to communicate with 
the reporters, as is often necessary. Parliament generally assem- 
bles at four o'clock in the afternoon, and often sits until nearly 
morning ; it is therefore of the greatest importance to know how 
matters are going on. 

The counting-room of The Times is small, but well adapted to 
its purposes. 



386 Letters from Europe. 



THE SCHUTZENFEST. 

THE SCHWYTZERS — GESSLEr'S CASTLE THE HOPLE GASSE — DEATH OP 

GESSLER — LAKE SCENERY ALTORF— THE TELLEN-PLATTE — WAS 

TELL A MYTH? — THE SCHUTZENFEST — SWISS SOLDIERS MILITARY 

EDUCATION THE FESTIVAL — AN AMERICAN SPEECH PRIZES. 

ScHWYTZ, Switzerland, July 14, 1867. 

From the town of Lucerne, down the lake whose natural beau- 
ties are the boast of Switzerland, or by an excellent post-road, 
there is easy access to Schwytz, which, though only a village with 
a population of little more than 5,000, is the capital of a canton 
bearing the same name, located nearly in the centre of the Con- 
federation. Tradition, which, particularly in this country, frequently 
assumes the authority of history, declares that the very existence 
of the Schwytzers, who are shut in between lakes and mountains, 
was not generally known in Europe before the beginning of the thir- 
teenth century, when the monks of Einseden, concealing the fact that 
the country was inhabited, obtained from the Emperor a grant of 
the territory, as waste and worthless land. The Schwytzers, not 
relishing the idea of being disposed of in this manner, resisted the 
reverend gentlemen, and a contest ensued which continued, in a 
desultory manner, for nearly fifteen years, when, about the time of 
Magna Charta being signed by King John, in England, it pleased 
the Emperor Frederick the Second to acknowledge their indepen- 
dence. 

In this canton, near the village of KUssnatch, just at the foot 
of the Rigi, is a ruined wall, called Gessler's Castle, which is 
said to have been that which he was repairing when shot by Wil- 
liam Tell. The identical spot where that catastrophe is said to 
have occurred is near Kiissnatch, and is called the Hople Gasse, or 
Hollow Way, and is a narrow lane, with high banks on each side, 
surmounted by lofty trees ; the post-road runs through it. Tell 
having escaped, by jumping out of Gessler's boat in the storm- 
tossed waters of Lucerne {as related in the page of history and 
in Knowles's drama), waited in this hollow for the coming of his 



The Schutzenfest. 387 

enemy, and put an arrow through hira, from behind a tree, as he was 
riding along. At the end of the Hollow Way, on the roadside, is 
a small building, called Toll's Chapel. It dates earlier than his 
time, however, and was originally dedicated to "The Fourteen 
Helpers in Need" (our Saviour, the Yirgin Mary, and the twelve 
Apostles), but is now associated, from its locality and name, with 
that memorable deed of blood which is reported to have liberated 
Switzerland. High mass is periodically celebrated in it ; the can- 
ton keeps it in repair ; and there is a fresco on its outer wall, rep- 
resenting the death of Gessler. 

The Biennial " Schlitzenfest " (shooting festival) is this year cele- 
brated at Schwytz. Anxious to see one of these characteristic 
gatherings, we took the boat William Tell yesterday (Saturday) 
morning, and after a sail of surpassing beauty reached Schwytz 
about five in the afternoon. I could easily conceive why this stu- 
pendous com.bination of the wild and lovely in nature had aroused 
the genius of the poet and the valor of the soldier, and why a peo- 
ple born and raised amid such scenery could never be held under 
the oppressor's yoke. It was our first fair view of the mountains 
and lakes of Switzerland, and I cannot deny that we have nothing 
like such scenery in America. It is "itself its only parallel," dif- 
fering from the bold grandeur of Niagara, which has no likeness on 
earth, the all-terrific forms of the Eocky Mountains, the peculiar 
magnificence of the AlleghaMes. These Swiss hills and lakes have 
been immensely assisted by art and wealth. My companions re- 
marked that our passage along these lovely waters, beautified on 
the levels by the residences of rich foreigners, many of them 
English gentry or Austrian nobility, and along the steep ascents 
occupied by the huts of the humble herdsmen or vine-growers, was 
not unlike a sail along the Hudson, above the Palisades, only here it 
was one continuous and uninterrupted succession of the wonderful. 
Eange after range of these mountains rose before us as we advanced 
— one above the other, until those in the rear seemed to fade away 
or mingle with the clouds, the white gleaming glaciers showing 
themselves defiant of the hot sun that blazed at intervals from be- 
tween the mists. 

Reaching the little town of Schwytz, in one of the few Catholic 
cantons in the Republic which have heretofore resisted the pro- 
gressive determination of the majority of the Protestant or Liberal 
party, but is now surely yielding before them, we took a carriage 



388 Letters from Europe, 

and drove to Altorf, in the canton of Uri, where tradition has fixed 
the scene of Tell's refusal to take off his hat to Gessler the tyrant, 
and where he is said to have hit, with his unerring arrow, the apple 
that was placed on the head of his darling son. It is a very rude 
village, and the event that makes it interesting is perpetuated by- 
yet ruder art, but the spot is not less dear to the people and 
interesting to strangers, who visit it in crowds. 

On our return we stopped at another of Tell's Chapels, where, 
according to the same tradition. Tell escaped from his foes. This 
chapel is approached either from the steamer or by a very long and 
winding path, is at the very foot of the mountain, and is built 
on the Tellen-Platte, on the verge of Lake Lucerne, where Tell 
sprang to shore out of the boat in which Gessler was conve^ang 
him to one of the dungeons of his castle near Klisnacht. Modern 
doubt hints that, on strict investigation into the archives of Klis- 
nacht, it has been clearly ascertained that the ruin now called 
Gessler's Castle never belonged to Gessler. But Tell's Chapel, 
on the Tellen-Platte, was erected by the canton of Uri, only thirty- 
one years after Tell's death, and in the presence of one hundred 
and fourteen persons who had known him personally. This affords 
cause for a strong presumption that the historical incidents with 
which his name and fame have been associated for five hundred 
years are actually true m the main. Modern doubt also has al- 
leged that what Tell did in Switzerland was performed by a hero 
named Toko, in Denmark, in the tenth century. No evidence 
would shake the Swiss belief in Tell. So lately as the year 1715, 
the deputies of the three ancient cantons of Schwytz, Unterwal- 
den, and Uri (whence came Werner Stauffacher, Arnold an der 
Halden, and Walter Fiirst, the bold triumvirate, pledged at Grlitli, 
to liberate their country or die), met in the little chapel, on the 
Tellen-Platte, to renew their allegiance to liberty and their oaths 
of eternal union. At the battle of Morgarten, in November, 1315, 
when the three cantons defeated Leopold of Austria, and freed 
their native land, the men of Schwytz so greatly distinguished them- 
selves, that thenceforth the whole country was named Schwytzers- 
land, after them. 

We spent the night at Schwytz, having first a look at the prepa- 
rations for the next morning's ceremonies. The Schlitzenfest is to 
the Swiss what the Fourth of July is to the Americans — a national 
holiday ; possessing, indeed, a practical significance in the extra- 



The Schutzenfest. 389 

ordinary rivalry it excites among the people by the valuable pre- 
miums offered for the best marksmen with the ordinary and modern 
rifle. A custom of early origin, it has been sedulously cultivated 
since the last attempt to break up the Eepublic in 1848 ; and now 
it is so interesting and popular that when the day arrives voluntary 
representatives of the whole nation, including men, women, and 
children, soldiers and politicians, young and old, hasten to it as to 
a great family centre. Even if there were no military schools and 
trainings for the people, therefore, you will see that the prepara- 
tions for the biennial " Schutzenfest" are calculated to make every 
man and every youth in the twenty-two cantons an adept in the use 
of firearms. When you are told that Switzerland has no standing 
army, no military tax, and no armed police, and yet, in a few hours 
warning, can put over three hundred thousand of the best troops 
in the world into the field, you will admit, perhaps, that she is 
pretty well able to defend herself, and that she has been no idle 
observer of the progress of the age. 

The soldiers which Switzerland can rally round the flag are the 
" Bundeszug " or Federal army ; the army of reserve ; the " Land- 
wehr " or militia ; and the " Landsturm " or army of defence. 
This last includes all men over forty-five, consists of 150,000 men, 
and would only be called out in an extremity. These four classes 
make up a total of 339,926 of as fine soldiers as can be found in 
Europe. They are divided into infantry, including picked riflemen, 
cavalry, artillery, and sappers and miners. In order to provide 
for the defence of Switzerland, every citizen has to bear arms, 
the children are taught at school how to manage the musket, 
this part of their education beginning at the age of eight, and to 
test their skill and excite emulation, they have to pass through 
constant exercises and public reviews. There is no compulsion 
used, but the children voluntarily avail themselves of this military 
instruction. Not the infantry exercise only, but practical gun- 
nery is taught. The Federal Government supplies the necessary 
rifles and also two and four pounder guns. From this, the import- 
ance of shooting well may be implied, and the national as well as 
individual interest in public competitive exhibitions. 

The present *' Schutzenfest " had been a week in progress when 
we arrived, but the feeling excited by the event seemed to be on 
the increase, judging by the crowds that came upon the same boat 
with ourselves, and who continued to pour in all night, their shouts 



390 Letters from Europe, 

and songs being kept up far into the small hours, and yet there 
was hardly a drunken man to be seen or heard in the entire con- 
course. As the night advanced the mountains were lighted with 
beacons, and every house seemed to be crowded with welcome 
guests. The hotel where we tarried over night, "The Golden 
Eagle," was overrun with customers, and yet a neater country- 
house, with its waxed floors, clean beds, and healthy food, I never 
enjoyed as I " took mine ease in mine inn." 

Taking a carriage about 11 o'clock this morning (Sunday) we 
set out for the place where the " Schiitzenfest " or festival was 
being held, about ten miles off. All along the route the houses, 
trees, and arbors were decorated with evergreens, the national 
Swiss flag, and those of the twenty-two different cantons ; here and 
there were seen mottoes in German or French, setting forth the 
love of the people for freedom and their Faderland. As Schwytz 
lies in the Muotta valley, nearly surrounded by hills, we had no lack 
of much and varied mountain scenery. Temporary cafes had been 
erected along the way, and were, from all appearances, doing a good 
business. Carriages and pedestrians, some going to the festival, 
and others returning, thronged the road. The spot selected was a 
valley nestled in among the high mountains, which towered above, 
forming a sort of amphitheatre. I can give you no fair idea of the 
wonderful magnificence of this charming spectacle. After a ride of 
about twenty minutes we reached our destination, and, alighting, 
were soon in the very midst of the festivities. Booths for the sale 
of cigars, trinkets, mementos of the occasion, dancing and singing 
houses, were placed around. Those present, and there were, I 
should think, between fifteen and twenty thousand persons on the 
ground, made up a most curious and picturesque collection of 
persons. Each of the twenty- two different cantons was represented, . 
and many of the people wore the old-fashioned costume which still 
prevails among these mountaineers, differing, however, in each 
commune. It was near the dinner-hour, twelve o'clock ; we there- 
fore repaired at once to the dining-hall, a large building, situated 
at one side of the field, and which was already nearly filled with 
people. 

Each canton was here allowed tables according to its popula- 
tion, and above these were hung placards bearing the name of the 
canton and the date at which the festival had been held there. 
Some of the cantons had three, four, or five tables, and others but 



The Schutzenfest, 391 

one. It should not be understood that all who participated in the 
ceremonies were citizens of, or even constant residents in, Svdtzer- 
land. There were persons present from almost every clime, includ- 
ing my own dear land, America. The Swiss from abroad had sent 
their representatives to join in the festivities of their native home. 
A band was in attendance, and, throughout the meal, which was 
marked by great order, played most beautifully the national airs of 
Switzerland. A tribune was erected in the middle of this vast hall, 
from which short speeches were made during the dinner by a num- 
ber of the distinguished men of the little Eepublic. The constitu- 
tion of this country declares that there shall be three languages 
acknowledged as national — that is, German, Italian, and French. 
The remarks of the speakers were sometimes in one and sometimes 
in another of these tongues. The Swiss people seem to under- 
stand and speak each of these equally well, only now and then 
blending them all together, thus forming a most curious mixture. 
The President of the Republic had been there and spoken the 
night before, and while we were sitting at the table, the Yice- 
President or President of the Senate addressed his people. My 
father, who had been invited to attend the festival, was introduced 
to the vast assemblage by an orator who spoke the German 
language, and when the shouts which greeted the announcement 
had subsided, he ascended the tribune. His allusions to Tell, 
Winkelried, Washington, Lincoln, Sumner, and Stevens, were soon 
appreciated, showing that those illustrious men were well remem- 
bered and known by the republicans of Switzerland. He said : 

I cannot call you countrymen, but I hail you as brothers and friends. 
In my boyhood days, the name of William Tell, your traditionary hero, 
was as dear to my heart as to any of you ; and when on the mimic stage I 
recited his thoughts, as they were translated by Sheridan Knowles, I never 
aftc' wards forgot the emotions they excited, however little I expected the 
day \vhen I should see you, his countrymen, face to face, in the very 
vicinity of his heroic exploits ; and this day there are many additional 
reasons why an American should be proud of Switzerland. We remem- 
ber that you were our exclusive friends, and that your government alone, 
with but one exception, sympathized with us in all our bloody struggles. 
I know that if we had failed you would have failed, and that if the banded 
slave tyrants of America had overthrown our republic the banded despots 
of Europe would have absorbed you. Hence, as we fought you prayed 
for our victory, and thousands of your Swiss aided us to win it at last. 
When our beloved Abraham Lincoln fell, the voice of the free cantons of 

25 



39 2 Letters from Europe, 

Switzerland sent ns sweet consolation ; and now that we are progressing 
to a grander liberty your applause is not less valuable because our success 
is your strength also. We have a thousand memories and interests in 
common ; we are bound together by the ties of civilization, of religion, 
of commerce, of kindred. There is not a spot of America where the 
Swiss citizen is not honored and respected. In my own native State I see 
your Kepublic almost every day in our Luzerne, our Zurich, our Berne, as 
these are repeated in our counties and townships, and in the familiar 
names of your people repeated in our own. Tour Tell and Winkelreid 
are ours ; our Washington and Lincoln are yours. Our Sumner and 
Stevens advocate the same truths that are precious to your statesmen, and 
your press, like our own, is fearless and free. Switzerland's sole repre- 
sentative at the capital of my country. General John Hitz, now before me, 
is the witness to the justice of my tribute, for he knows full well hovs^ 
much we venerate and study your example ; and if I may be permitted, I 
will say that no country has ever been more faithfully served than Switzer- 
land in her honest, practical, and unwearied Consul General at Washing- 
ton. Other governments send their ministers and plenipotentiaries, but 
you prove the purity of your republicanism by appointing one who, 
without title or ceremonies, can best defend your interests, and best illus- 
trate your principles. When I return to my country, my friends and 
brothers, one of the most pleasing of my duties will be to represent to the 
American people the interest of this grand occasion, and, above all, the 
enthusiasm of this imposing welcome to one of the humblest but most 
devoted of her sons. 

The shooting commenced at one o'clock, and to what may be 
called the gallery we made our way immediately at the close of the 
dinner. This gallery was a long, narrow, wooden structure, open 
at both sides. The shots were fired at targets placed at the 
bottom of a field from out this building, the distance being one 
thousand feet. All along one side were stalls, each one being set 
apart for a different kind of rifle. Eifles of almost every kind were 
used, and each one being thus practically tested, the result was 
taken note of for a report afterwards to be made to the govern- 
ment ; for these festivals, be it understood, are, as I have said, not 
only for pleasure purposes. The Swiss government pays a certain 
amount of the expenses, receiving in return for the outlay state- 
ments concerning the merits of various rifles, and the education of 
its subjects as marksmen. Though Switzerland has no standing 
army, and seldom has in time of peace over five thousand men in 
arms, yet every boy is taught the use of a gun as well as the use of 
the pen. Leaving the shooting-gallery, we proceeded to the circular 



Pavements, Coaches and Cabs, 393 

structure almost in tlie centre of this natural amphitheatre, and 
there examined the various prizes to be given to the most skilful 
marksmen. Here were cups, silver and gold ; purses of money, 
watches, medals, pictures, &c., to a very large extent. 

It was nearly two o'clock this afternoon when we reached the 
"William Tell" at the wharf, which was already fall of passengers 
waiting to return to Lucerne and the other cantons, and as I 
surveyed the curious scene before me, and once more drank in the 
inspiration of these glorious mountains, I felt well compensated for 
my day's visit. 



PAVEMENTS, COACHES, AND CABS. 

STREETS OF PARIS — ASPHALT PAVEMENT HOW TO MAKE IT PLACE 

DE LA CONCORDE EUROPEAN ROADS — PARISIAN STREETS — CAR- 
RIAGES — FARES AND REGULATIONS — LONDON CABS — HANSOMS, 

BROUGHAMS AND CLARENCES — CHEAP LOCOMOTION THE TOLL 

NUISANCE. 

London, August 16, 1867. 

Among the most remarkable features of the city of Paris are the 
streets. The majority of these thoroughfares, pavements and 
carriage-ways, are covered with a solid substance, mixed with 
gravel, which supplies a surface as smooth and almost as durable 
as flag-stone. It is quickly laid, soon hardens, is not expensive, is 
easily repaired, and vehicles, while running upon it, do not make 
that deafening racket which we of America are compelled to 
endure in our large cities. It is commonly called the Asphalt 
Pavement, from the principal vehicle which binds together the 
materials of which it is composed. Asphaltum is a bituminous 
substance, found in various parts of the old and new worlds — very 
largely in the Island of Trinidad, also profusely on the shores of 
the Dead Sea (where the Arabs call it Hajar Moura or Mosert 
Stone). It also occurs in various parts of Asia, South America, 
France, Germany, the British Islands, and the United States. The 
asphaltum got from the Pitch Lake in Trinidad has been long and 
largely used for ships' bottoms, and it has been extensively applied 



394 Letters from Europe. 

to coat wooden houses, and to preserve that part of wooden pave- 
ments which, from being sunk into the ground, has a tendency to 
decay. It was used by the ancients as a cement, and the walls of 
Babylon were built with it. It was used as a covering for roofs 
long before the late Dr. Ure, an English practical chemist, recom- 
mended that it should be applied to form a coating for side-walks, 
as a substitute for coal-tar, mixed with gravel and sand, which had 
long been so used in parts of England. Nearly forty years ago, 
Dr. Ure's suggestion was largely adopted in several of the English 
cities and towns, but was soon abandoned, because its wear and 
tear was too considerable, and also, because, in very hot weather, 
it became softened, and almost sticky. It was prepared by heat- 
ing the asphaltum in portable boilers, in the street, and when 
thoroughly melted, by mixing dry sand, gravel, or powdered lime- 
stone with it. While still hot, it was spread on the place prepared 
for it (usually a brick pavement, such as is common in American 
towns), and when cool, it became solid and hard. About the time 
that the asphaltum pavement was being partially adopted in 
England, there arose quite a furore for it in France, where several 
varieties of the principal material are found. To this day, it is 
used in that country for roofs, terraces, walks, &c. You see it on the 
Boulevards, and the Place de la Concorde is covered with an 
asphaltum pavement, ingeniously composed of various colors to 
make it resemble mosaic. 

About thirteen years ago, the asphalt process was introduced, 
on a large scale, into Paris. The asphaltum, which is a bitumi- 
nous mastic, is heated to expel the water and volatile oils, which 
have a tendency to make the compound crack, and about four 
parts of bitumiuous limestone finely powdered are stirred into 
one part of the boiling asphaltum, until a homogeneous mixture is 
produced. This is spread, while still hot, upon a flat surface 
especially prepared, consisting of a concrete of gravel and cement, 
which must not have set but also be thoroughly dry before the 
asphalt preparation be put upon it, to the thickness of one and 
three-fifths inches. Or, the heated preparation is poured upon sheets 
of paper surrounded by a wooden frame, and even spread by a 
heated iron roller, sand being sprinkled upon the surface. When 
cool, the sheets thus covered are laid on the prepared place, be it 
road, street, or foot-path, and are soldered with a hot iron. The 
heated roller which finally gives it an even surface weighs about 



Pavements, Coaches and Cahs, ^^r 

1600 pounds. In a few hours after the asphalt pavement is thus 
laid, it can be used. It produces neither mud nor dust, and wears re- 
markably well, the wheels of carriages and other vehicles produc- 
ing no apparent effect for a long time. The motion of a carriage 
over this pavement is smooth and pleasant, and it makes scarcely 
any noise. This, indeed, is one of its drawbacks, for pedestrians 
wanting to cross the street must be more than usually vigilant, 
to prevent being run over, as they can scarcely hear the sound of 
vehicles. 

Whether this composition is affected or not by heat and cold 
seems to be an undecided question. That it is, is urged by some ; 
principally, however, by those interested in other kinds of roads. 
On the other hand, it has been well tried in the French metropolis, 
and has, to all appearances, given entire satisfaction. Some years 
ago it was laid in London on a few of the streets as an experiment, 
but was soon taken up, not being able to withstand the wear and tear 
of the enormous freight-wagons constantly moving through almost 
every part of this great city. The authorities of the American 
cities have spent enormous sums in endeavoring to discover a 
substance with which they can make smooth, durable streets. I 
would not say that this French composition has all the qualities 
which would be considered necessary for a street-covering by the 
municipalities of Philadelphia, Boston, New York, and Washing- 
ton ; but that it would well repay these governments to send across 
the water commissions of scientific, honest gentlemen, to inquire 
into this matter, there can be no doubt. Such commissioners would 
be welcomed by the French, who, with their proverbial politeness, 
would gladly give all required information. Europe, everywhere, 
excels America in streets. Even the country roads, and especially 
in Switzerland, are as smooth and as even as a polished floor. 
Therefore, not in Paris alone would these commissions find work ; 
they would learn much in any European city. 

London and Paris set us another example it would be well to 
follow : cheap cabs. In Paris there are three different kinds of 
carriages for hire. First, the voitures de remise (glass coaches) 
taken by the day, mouth, or year, with coachman and footman, or 
only coachman. The price of these is from twenty-five to thirty- 
five francs per day (from five to seven dollars), from five hundred 
to seven hundred francs per month (from one hundred to one hun- 
dred and fifty dollars), and from four to six thousand francs per 



^^6 Letters from Europe, 

year (from eight hundred to twelve hundred dollars). These car- 
riages are, it should be understood, engaged at the livery stable. 
Second, the cabriolet or voiture de remise which you hire by the 
" course " or hour. These stand under cover, and are numbered 
with red figures, to distinguish them from the common voiture de 
place which are numbered with yellow figures. They charge for 
the course one franc fifty centimes (thirty cents), for the hour two 
francs fiftyjiicentimes (fifty cents), and a small pour boire for the 
driver. The "pour boire^' is a fee in money over and above the 
regular fare, is not according to law, but it is according to custom, 
and is always paid. It averages about twenty centimes (two cents) 
for every fare, and twenty cents of your fare. Third, the cochere 
de place. These are the cheapest cabs of Paris. Fare by the 
course one franc twent^^-five centimes (twenty-five cents) ; by the 
hour one franc seventy-five centimes (forty cents), and the driver's 
pour boire ; at night, and when you go outside of the fortifica- 
tions, half a franc (ten cents) is added to the above fares of the 
second and third class, of which classes I will speak for the pres- 
ent. For every package which you cannot put inside the carriage 
four sous (two cents) is charged. After the first hour, you pay 
for the portion of the hour you have the cab, but if you engage 
only by the hour, and only use it for five or ten minutes, or for any 
time less than an hour, you are charged for the fall hour. Upon 
entering, the driver hands you a card, upon which are printed his 
number and the scale of prices, and which tells you at what hour 
night is considered to commence and end. The numbered ticket 
it is usual to keep, so that if you leave any thing in the cab you 
can recover it at the station by declaring the number. Upon 
starting, you tell the driver whether you wish to take him by the 
course or hour ; if you do not, you are charged by the course. 
Until very lately all the cabs in Paris were under one company ; 
others have, I understand, recently been started. Drivers are 
severely reprimanded for any dereliction of duty, and yearly 
rewards are given them to encourage them to leave at the general 
stations any article they may find in their cabs. When you g© 
beyond the barriers, you pay all the tolls. It is usual, to save 
time and prevent disputes, to pay beforehand, when going to a 
railway station or a theatre. It is estimated that there are con- 
stantly on the go in Paris over three thousand of these different 
cabs, and that sixty thousand of these vehicles, public and private, 



PavementSy Coaches and Cabs, 397 

are in daily motion, carrying some two hundred and fifty thousand 
people. There are 120,000 horses in Paris. The fares of the first- 
class public carriages have been increased a little during the Great 
Exposition. 

The cabs of London are not as well managed as in Paris, and 
they charge higher. Although the drivers are not so particular 
and determined upon the " drink-money " matter, they are unwil- 
ling to, and seldom do, go by the published rate of fares. A 
brougham and pair taken from the livery-stable will cost almost if 
not quite as much as the same kind of establishment would cost in 
Philadelphia. The prices of four-wheelers, holding four persons, 
and of the Hansoms, holding two, are published as follows : Two 
shillings (fifty cents) an hour for one or two persons, and sixpence 
(twelve cents) for every additional ' quarter of an hour. The 
drivers, however, will not go by this scale, and if you insist upon 
their doing so will crawl along at a snail's pace. It is not unusual, 
however, to hire a cab or a Hansom (called after the man who 
introduced that vehicle) by the hour. There are one-horse car- 
riages, but the horses in England are larger and more powerful 
than those generally used in harness in the United States. The 
general practice is to pay by the distance, fixed by law at only 
sixpence (twelve cents) per mile. This price is so low as to be 
scarcely remunerative, for no London cabman can make any thing 
for himself during the day until he has cleared twelve shillings for 
his employer ; on the remainder he gets a percentage. But, in 
fact, very few think of paying him less than a shilling per mile. 
Latterly, I believe, the legal fare has been raised a little. As a 
matter of course, the cabman is never satisfied with his legal fare. 
The Hansom cabs are universally well-horsed, go rapidly, and are 
driven by a higher class of men, at least by men better dressed. 
But even a shilling a mile, which the British legislature thought 
an extortionate price, would be accepted as a boon in this country. 
Twice that fare would not be complained of in our great cities. 
Neat, light, and roomy four-wheeled carriages, each drawn by one 
horse, might advantageously supersede our large coaches drawn 
by two horses. The London cab, when it has a single seat for two 
passengers, is a ''Brougham," when it has a double seat, so that 
four can be conveyed, it is called a " Clarence." Whatever the 
name, the reality is a great and economic conveyance which, 
some time or other, is sure to be adopted in America. Properly 



2gS Letters from Europe. 

"worked," the cab system would be found profitable there. I 
noticed, that within the now very extended circle of London, 
including the actual metropolis, north and south of the Thames, 
not a single toll-bar is to be found. I wish the same could be said 
of Philadelphia. In Switzerland and in Ireland, the public roads 
are toll-free, being kept in repair out of the public treasury. 



INDEX 



Abbey, Westminster 89 

Actors and Actresses, London 66 

Adams, Charles Francis, patriotism 
of, 55 ; his action against Kebel 

Agents, Liverpool 31 

America, English friends of, 53 ; sym- 
pathy of the working-classes with, 54 

American Art, future of 271 

American Chapel in Paris 18(5 

American Circus in Paris 153 

American correspondents of London 
daily papers, their enmity to Ameri- 
can institutions, 75 ; falsification, of 

facts by 83 

American example, influence of in 

England 50 

American farm-house in Paris Exposi- 
tion 136 

American hotels, snperiority of 79 

American piano-fortes. Exposition 

medals for 135 

American Eailroad Stock, 95 ; Penn- 
sylvania R. R. 96 ; progress of, 79 ; 
connection with the Pacific lines, 
98 ; its great controlling powers.... 99 
American reaping-machines in the 

Paris Exposition 135 

American school-houses in Paris Ex- 
position 136 

American visitors to Paris 154 

American watering-places, attrac- 
tions of, 234; " hops" at 242 

Ainsworth, W. H., his romance of 

"The Tower of London" 308 

Amsterdam, city of, 275; described 

by Erasmus 276 

Agricultural laborers, wretched con- 
dition of, in Europe 101 

Albert, Prince, his action in the case 
of "The Trent," 82; gets up the 
Crystal Palace, 87; Early Life of... 292 

Alhambra, the, in London 58 

Altorf, scene of Tell's apple-shooting, 388 
Amusements on board, 21 ; in Lon- 
don 56 

Anglo-French free-trade Treaty 348 

Antwerp, 266; school of Art, 267; 
Rubens and his works, 267 ; Ca- 
thedral, 268; from, to London 359 



Applegath's printing-machines 383 

Arctic Ocean 27 

Aristocracy, power of 305 

Aristocratic Preserves 24 

Armories, in the Tower of London ... 310 

Asphaltum, 393 ; pavements of. 394 

Atlantic Telegraph 62 

Austerlitz, Napoleon's sword of 168 

Baden, Grand Duchy of, 235 ; Emi- 
gration from 240 

Baden-Baden, natural bea,uties of, 
232 ; legalized gambling at, 233 ; the 
Grand Duke shares the spoil, 285 ; 
the Vice-General, 236 ; suicides at, 

237; gambler's ball at 241 

Baggage Checks 40 

Ballot, vote by 74 

Bank of France, notes of 347 

Basle, the ribbons of 229 

Barnum, a Hint to 365 

Beckwick, Mr., Commissioner for the 

Paris Exposition 165 

Beecher, Henry Ward, in England... 54 
Beef-eaters, the. Wardens of the Tow- 
er of London 307 

Belgium, 257; capital of, 258; Gov- 
ernment and Legislature of, 259 ; 
its products, 263 ; free institutions, 
263 ; underselling England, 350 ; 
statistics of Industry in, 353 ; wages 
in, 354 ; contrasted with English... 355 

Belgravia, why so named 332 

Benazet, licensed gaming-house keep- 
er 234 

Benjamin, Judah P., now a British 

barrister and subject 84 

Birmingham, borough of, sends John 

Bright to Parliament 72 

"Black Crook" eclipsed 107 

Blackfriars' Bridge 363 

Blanc, Louis, London correspondent 

of a Paris journal 151 

Blenheim Palace and Park 109 

Bodleian Library at Oxford 118 

Bois de Boulogne 183 

Boleyn, Anna, in the Tower 312 

Breckinridge, John C, in London ,... 83 

(399) 



400 



Index, 



Briglit, John, his Araerican predilec- 
tions, 51 ; republican convictions, 
53; speeches at Manchester, 54; his 
person described, 72 ; familiar with 
American politics, 73 ; opinion of 
democratic Irishmen in the United 
States, 74; eulogy and prophecy 
on the emancipated colored people, 
74, ; advocacy of the ballot, 74; re- 
grets the Fenian movement, 75 ; his 
Parliamentary record, 77; strong 
anti-slavery feelings, 78 ; exertions 

to extend education 366 

British sympathy with freedom 53 

Broad Gauge railroad 121 

Brunei, Sir Isambert ; observes the 
travelling of the " Teredo Navalis, 
323; projects the Thames Tunnel, 

324; anecdotes of 326 

Brussels, approach to, 258 ; resembles 

Paris 259 

Buckingham Palace, decay of 363 

Burritt,' Elihu, advocates Free Trade, 112 
Byron, Lord; quotation from 215 



Cabinet or Council of French Minis- 
ters 151 

Cabs in Paris, 396; in London 397 

Canals of Holland 274 

Cafes on the Boulevards 347 

Carlotta of Belgium 259 

Carlsruhe, Capital of Baden 238 

Carlyle, Thomas, his attack on the 
Ke'form Bill, 305 ; his political apos- 

tacy 306 

Carpet Manufactory, Crossley's 43 

Carriages in Paris 396 

Castles in Europe, records of feu- 
dality 239 

Catacombs of Paris, why and how 
constructed, 177; where situated, 
178 ; arrangements in, 178 ; litera- 
ture of, 178 ; admission to, 178 ; de- 
scription of, 179 ; victims of the 

Massacre in September 182 

Catacombs of Egypt, Thebes, Eome, 

Naples, Syracuse, and Malta 181 

Cathedral of Antwerp, 2d8 ; of Ches- 
ter 331 

Catholic Church, Mazzini on.,. 284 

Central Halles, New Markets of Paris ISci 
Champ de Mai, held by Napoleon be- 
fore Waterloo 191 

Champ de Mars, 183 ; historic scenes 

in 190 

Champs Elysees 103 

Chatsworth 110 

Chester, City of, its antiquity, 328; 
the "Rows," 329; the walls, 330; 

Cathedral 331 

Christ Church, Oxford 114 

Churches in Paris 183 

City, what makes an English 32 

Clawson, Isaac, lines on Napoleon, 

by r. 168 

Close Borough system overthrown.... 50 

Closerie des Lilas 187 

Coal, in Belgium, 353 ; London tax 



Cobden, Eichard, his high opinion of 

Boston franchise 51 

Coblentz, ^ strongly fortified, 254 ; 

treaty w'ith France 348 

Coinage, unification of 347 

Cologne, City of 249 

Commercial travellers 40 

Colt's Revolver, a re-invented weapon 311 
Commissioners, message-carriers in 

London 80 

Commons, House of.... 45 

Concerts at the Crystal Palace, enor- 
mous prices of admission 86 

Confederate cause at a discount in 

Europe 82 

"Coningsby," Disraeli's novel 52 

Confusion of European coin 257 

Continental manufactures, progress 

of 350 

Co-operative principle at Crossley's 

factory ^ 42 

Corps Legislatif of France, Chamber 
of, 148 ; members, how elected and 
paid, 150 ; allowed little freedom of 

speech 152 

Council of State in Paris 151 

Country Inns in England 282 

Cowper & Applegath's cylinder print- 
ing presses 384 

Creed & Williams' protection pam- 
phlet, 348; quoted from 850 

Crossley, Sir Francis, his carpet fac- 
tory, 43; gives a Park to Hali- 
fax ;.. 44 

Crowns of England in the Tower 311 

Crystal Palace at Sydenham, 85 ; con- 
structed by Sir J. Paxton under 
Prince Albert's patronage, 86; de- 
scription of, 86 ; the Handel Orches- 
tra, works of art, monuments, 
manufactures, models, picture gal- 
leries, park, gardens, terraces, 
lakes, and fountains, 88 ; rencontre 

with an Union soldier at 88 

Cunard Steamships, 21, 30 ; a subsi- 
dizing line, 369 ; monopoly nearly 

ended 370 

Custom-house searches 257 



D'Aubigne, Merle, history of the Re- 
formation 227 

Davis, Jefferson, his expected visit to 

London 85 

Demi-monde of Paris, Sunday balls 

of 187 

Derby, Earl of, reduces the Irish 

Church Establishment 290 

De Eos, Lord, history of the Tower 

of London 307 

"Descent from the Cross,'' by Rubens 268 

De Stael, Madame 227 

Destitution in London 101 

Devonshire, Duke of, owner of Chats- 
worth 110 

Dialects, varieties of, in England ....*.. 341 
Dickens, Charles, his "American 

Notes" 339 

Diodati, Byron's residence near 
Geneva 229 



Index ^ 



401 



Dixon, W. Hepworth, his "New 
America" 340 

Disraeli, Benjamin, British Ministerial 
leader, 47 ; heads the new revoru- 
tion, 52; his political novels, 53; 
his sagacious policy of concession... 124 

Docks of Liverpool 34 

Dodd, Kalph, first projects a Thames 
tunnel 324 

Dome of St. Paul's, 296; view from... 300 

Domestic life in France, 154 ; living 
in suites of rooms 155 

Dougherty, D., in Shakspeare's birth- 
place 106 

Drary Lane Theatre, the London 
"Bowery" 56 

Dudley, Thomas H., U. S. Consul at 
Liverpool, 37 ; patriotism of... 55 

Dykes of Holland 273 



Eaton Hall described 332 

Egypt, catacombs of. 180 

Eiirenbreitzstein, castle-fortress of..... 254 
Elizabeth, Queen, her progress to 
Kenil worth, 110 ; imprisoned in the 

Tower 309 

English and French contrasted 340 

English country inns, 2S0 ; the Pea- 
cock at Eowsley 282 

English friends of American institu- 
tions 59 

English people, inferior condition of.. 58 

Erasmus, his idea of Amsterdam 276 

Eugenie, the Empress, at the Palace 
of Industry, 163; in the Champs 

Elysees 183 

Europe, state of 145 

European coin, confusion of. 257 

European industry establishments, 

increasing cost of. 145 

European Wages 260 

European and Americans contrasted.. 339 
Evans, Dr., his Sanitary Commission 

Collection 138 

Evelyn, John, his plan for rebuilding 

London 298 

" Evening Mail," tri-weekly of "The 

Times" 385 

Exposition, Palace of the, 189 ; des- 
cription of, 190 ; cost of, 192; ulti- 
mate destiny, 193 ; geographical 
sections, 193 ; United States' artists, 
194 ; galleries of, 195 ; divisions of, 
196 ; aquaria in, 197 ; distribution of 
prizes by Napoleon, 160 ; descrip- 
tion of the Palace of Industry, 161 ; 
the Sultan, 161; imperial punctu- 
ality, 162; what Pennsylvania won, 
165; moral of the Exposition 166 



Factory labor, poor wages of 101 

Familiar surnames 260 1 

Fares, steamboat 360 | 

Favre, Jules, in the French Legisia- ] 

ture 198 ! 

February, 1848, revolution of 343 1 

Federal Council of Switzerland 218 j 

Fire of London, 298: at the Tower.... 318 ' 



Floating street, a 20 

Flower, E. F., late Mayor of Stratford, 
104 ; presided at the Shakspearian 

tercentenary 105 

Forney, Col., speech in Switzerland by 391 

Forney, J. W., Jr., Letters by 379-398 

Foreign capital comes westward, 365 ; 

investment of, in America 366 

Foreign steamboats inferior to Amer- 
ican 358 

Foreign travel, advantages of 372 

Fountain de la Samaritaine 180 

Fourth of July celebrated in Paris.... 341 
Fraser, Eev. James, his report on ed- 
ucation in America 102 

France, her sympathy'with American 

rebels, 82 ; opinion changed now... 83 
France, government of, 147; the legis- 
lature, 148 ; Council of State, 151 ; 
Cabinet, 151; censorship of the press. 152 

France and England contrasted 127 

Frankfort, city ot, 245 ; monument to 
the .printer Gutenberg, 246 ; not 

reconciled to the Prussian yoke 

Free trade, adopted by Sir Robert 
Peel, and advocated by Elihu Bur- 
ritt, 112 ; the modern English plat- 
form, 113; brings taxation, 258; 

checked by protection 34S 

French newspa,pers, character of. 197 

French revolution of 1848 343 

Funeral service in Paris 181 

Galignani's Messenger, quotation 
from, 130 ; hostility to American ;, 

free institutions 152 if 

Gambling houses at Baden-Baden, 
232 ; at Wiesbaden, Homburg, and 

Ems 242 

Geneva, history of, 227 ; illustrious 
persons born at, 228; watches made 
at, 229 ; low wages of skilled arti- 
sans, 230 ; poverty of the laboring 

population, 230 ; U. S. Consul at 231 

German peasantry, 262 ; patois in 

Pennsylvania 261 

Gessler's Castle 3S6 

Giesbach, ca^^cade of the 224 

Girardin, Emile de, on the Mexican 

question 174 

Glaciers of Switzerland 217 

Gladstone, William Ewart, British 

Opposition leader 47 

God's-acre at Washington 89 

Goldfish in the Catacombs ISO 

Grand Hotel, Paris 153 

Gray, Lady Jane 309 

Great Catholic churches..... 183 

Great Western P^ailroad and the 

broad guage 121 

Greenbacks, superior virtue of 258 

Grosvenor family 336 

Gutenbertr, the printer, statue of, in 

Frankfort 246 

Guy Fawkes tortured in the Tower... 309 

HaddonHall, Derbyshire 110 

Halifax, visit to . ..*. 42 



402 



Index, 



Hague, tlie 275 

Hampton Court Palace 281 

Handel Orchestra, in Crystal Palace 

ar, Sydenham 87 

"Handicraftsmen and Capitalists," 

quoted from 350 

Hanover transferred to Prussia 242 

Hansom cabs 397 

Haymarket theatre 57 

Heidelberg, description of 238 

Her Majesty's Theatre 57 

Hitz, General, Swiss Consul-General 

at Washington 392 

Hoe's steam presses in " Times" 

office 383 

Holland, peculiar aspect of, 271 ; 

windmills in 272 ; dykes of, 273 ; 

canals of, 274 ; cities of 275 

Homburg, licensed gamblers at 244 

Hopple Gasse, the, 386; Tell shot Gess- 

ler in 387 

Horse-races in Paris on Sunday 186 

Hotels in England inferior to those of 

America, 79 ; expenses at 81 

House of Commons, 45 ; described.... 46 
Hughes, Thomas, author of "Tom 

Brown's School Days," 61; at Ox- 
ford 116 

Hunt, Mr. of Stratford, his original 

portrait of Shakspeare 106 

Illinois, in the Paris Exposition 135 

Immigration to America, great desire 

for in England 102 

Imperial Printing-office of Paris, 197 ; 
founded and located, 199 ; described, 
• 199 ; wages at, 199 ; stereotyping, 
200; varieties of alphabets, 200; 
work done at, 200 ; a polyglot 
Lord's Prayer, 201 ; playing-cards, 
201 ; the " plant," 201 ; receipts and 

expenditure, 201 ; decorations 201 

Intemperance, prevalence of in Lon- 
don 58 

Interlachen, town of 223 

Invalides, Church of the, 166 ; descrip- 
tion of 169 

Irish Church of the Minority, 283; its 
enormous wealth, 285 ; statistics of, 
286; a sinecure rector, 287; O'Con- 
neil on. 288 ; necessarv reform of, 
289 ; how dealt with by Lord Derby, 290 

Iron and Mines in Belgium 353 

Ironmasters and Free Trade 349 

Islington, Peabody buildings at .; 62 

Jardin Mabille 187 

Josephine, Empress in Switzerland... 229 j 

Judkins, Captain, of Steamship Scotia 22 j 

Julius Csesar, reputed founder of the | 

Tower of London 307 ( 

Keep, the, of the Tower 309 

Kempis, Thomas \ his book 201 

Kenilworth Castle, Euins of , liO 

Koh-i-noor, the 311 

Konig, Mr., makes the first steam- 
worked printing press 383 



Labor and poverty abroad 262 

Laborious poor, Peabody buildings 

for the 65 

Laboulaye, Professor, author of " Pa- 
ris in America," visit to, 157; his 
sympathy with the Union, 157 ; his 
friends and correspondents in the 
United States, 168; his wonderful 
book, 158 ; age and appearance, 159 ; 
his numerous publications, 159 ; 
not permitted to lecture in Ver- 
sailles 159 

Lafayette, Marquis de, his tomb, 171 ; 

an unostentatious resting-place 172 

Lairds, of Birkenhead, ship-building 

yards of 36 

Lamartine, wholly retired from poli- 
tics 151 

Lampson, Sir Curtis, 24 ; Trustee of 

Peabody Fund 62 

Lambeth, Borough of, 362 ; Archiepis- 

copal Palace of. 363 

Langham Hotel, London, in charge of 
an American manager, 79 ; extent, 
cost, and system, SO ; American im- 
provements, 81 ; cost of living.... 81 

Lausanne, town of 225 

Leman, Lake; compai-ed with Bay of 

Naples 211 

Life at sea 21 

Liverpool, town of, first day at, 30 ; 
hotel at, cheap travel in, St. John's 
Market, 33 ; Docks, 34 ; streets, 35 ; 
blockade-runners, 36 ; U. S. Consul 

at, 37; Princess Park 40 

London, a political asylum 91 

London Amusements, inferiority of... 66 
London and Northwestern Railroad, 

its capital stock 120 

London Bridge 362 

Loudon smoke, ill effects of 363 

London to Paris 125 

London, Tower of 306-319 

Lott, Captain, of steampship Persia.. 372 
Louvre, Palace of the, 209 ; its art- 
collections, 210 ; picture-copyists... 211 

Lovat, Lord, Execution of 311 

Low Wages and little Education, 100 ; 
starving laborers, 100; workers 

badly paid 101 

Lowe, Eobert, opposes the Eeform 

Bill 50 

Lucerne, Lake of, 225; Town of 386 

Lutheran memorials 269 

Machinery, perfection of 44 

Malta, Catacombs of 180 

Market, St. John's, Liverpool 33 

Marlborough, John, Duke of, pre- 
sented with the estate and palace 

of Blenheim 109 

Maximilian, ambition of caused his 
misfortunes, 174; a political adven- 
turer, 176; funeral service for 2o9 

Mazziui on the Italian Church 284 

Mechanics of Philadelphia, comforta- 
bly housed 155 

Mersey, entering the, 31 ; steam fer- 
ries on the 364 



Index, 



403 



Mexican question, Napoleon's great- 
est blunder, 175 ; Erench legislative 

debate on 149 

Middle Classes, subserviency of to tlie 

Upper 305 

Midnight Sun 27 

Mill, John Stuart, a friend of Ameri- 
can freedom 55 

Miners, poor wages of 101 

Ministerial benches in Parliament.... 46 

Mont Blanc 228 

Monument, of London, the 362 

Monuments and Statues in Europe.... 369 
Moran, Benjamin, U. S. Secretary of 

Legation in England 55 

Morgan, J. L., banker, trustee of Pea- 
body fund 62 

Morse, F. B., U. S. Consul at London, 55 

Mother-tongue revived 261 

Motley, John Lowthrop, 276 ; his con- 
templated history of the Thirty 
Years War, 277 ; checked by his 
dismission from the diplomatic ser- 
vice 278 

Napoleon the First, tomb of, 166; 

statue of 194 

Napoleon the Third, his policy, 128 ; 
remodels Paris, 129 ; compared -svith 
Augustus Csesar, 129 ; his aristoc- 
racy, 147 ; personal appearance and 
manner of speaking, 163 ; an exile 

in Switzerland 221 

Napoleon, Prince, in the Palace of 

Industry 164 

Nassau, Grand Duchy of, now trans- 
ferred to Prussia, 242; licensed 

gaming-houses in 243 

Ifelson, Lord, his monument in St. 

Paul's 302 

Newspapers in France, obstacles in 
the way of establishing and con- 
ducting them 152 

Newstead Abbey, now owned by Mr. 

Webb Ill 

Nicholson's cylinder printing press... 383 

Noisy navigation 361 

Northmen, immigration of. 29 

Norway, description of 26 

Norwegians, how they live 28 

Ocean steamers, 367; the American 

line 370 

Oligarchy, ascendancy of 42 

Olympic Theatre 57 

Orleans, Duchess of 149 

Omnibuses in Paris, statistics of, 344, 395 

Omnibuses in London 345 

Opera, dress nights at the, 57 ; high 

prices of admission 58 

Opposition, seats of the 46 

Orne, James H., at Halifax 42 

Orphanage, the, at Halifax 44 

Outward Bound 19 

Oxford, Universities of, 114; antiquity, 

115; its lessons to the mind, 115 ; 

"Tom Browne's School-days," 116; 

Goldwiu Smith's Lectures at, 116 ; 



character of Cromwell, 177 ; a City 
of Palaces, 118 ; Colleges and Halls, 
118; Bodleian Library 118 



Pacific railroads 98 

Pages, Gamier, the only leader of 
1818 now in the French Corps 
Legislatif 150 

Paris, first impression of, 126 ; char- 
acter of its people, 127 ; its great 
public works, 128; its streets, 129 ; 
Sunday's amusements in, 130; 
population of 156 

Paris Exposition, 133 ; ascendancy of 
France and exaltation of the Buna- 
parte dynasty, 133 ; three highest 
prizes awarded to Americans, 134; 
gold medals to the United States in- 
ventors and manufacturers, 135; 
American farm house and school- 
house, 136 ; Eussian miniature 
palace, 136 ; Sanitary Commission, 
138; Philadelphia inventions and 
applications 139 

Paterson Works, New Jersey, Expo- 
sition honors to 135 

Patti, Adelina, sings at the Crystal 
Palace concerts 86 

Paul's, St., Cathedral, 295; statistics 
of the edifice, 296 ; history of, :i97 ; 
ancient site, 298; Sir Christopher 
Wren's work, 299; view from apex 
of the dome, 300; monuments in, 
300; Nelson's grave, 302; Welling- 
ton's tomb 302 

Pavements, Asphalt, 393; unsuccess- 
ful in England, 394; how made in 
Paris, 394; their success 395 

Paxton, Sir Joseph, 41 ; constructs the 
Crystal Palace, 87 ; at Chatsworth. 110 

Peabody, George, 23; farewell at 
Queenstown, 30 ; American address 
to 31 

Peabody Fund, 62; unpaid board of 
management, 63 ; Islington build- 
ings described, 64 ; salubrity of 67 

Peabody Square, Islington, visit to, 
62 ; description of Peabody build- 
ings, 64 ; low rents, 65 ; salubrity of. 67 

Peace Party, John Bright a member 
of the 77 

Peculiarities of foreigners 339 

Peel, Sir Robert, adopted free trade... 112 

Penn, William, birth of in London... 319 

Pennsylvania Central Eailroad, 96 ; 
connection with the Pacific, 98 ; 
capital stock of 120 

Pennsylvanian Dutch 261 

Pennsvlvania Great Central Fair of 
1864 142 

People and places contrasted 3.39 

Pere la Chaise, Cemetery of. 177 

Persia, the, Cunard Ocean Steamer, 
367 ; her interior described, 368 ; 
cargo and profits, 369; passengers 



371 



Philadelphians, Exposition medals 

awarded to 

Pilatus, Mount 



404 



Index. 



Place Yendome, Napoleon's pillar in 177 

Platform of the English Liberals 61 

Poet's Corner, Westminster Abbey. ... 317 

Policemen, pay of in Lrnlon 100 

Pope Pius declines to muve 255 

Potter, Thomas Bayley, M. P. for 

Rochdale, 54 ; his Liberal views 61 

Prices and wages in Belgium 264 

Primogeniture, law of 336 

Prince of Wales' Theatre 57 

Prince Imperial of France, 163 ; pleas- 
ing incident, 164 ; his printing press 200 
Princes in the Tower, murder of the.. 308 

Princess Park, Liverpool 40 

Printing Office, the Imperial 197 

Printers' wages in London 101 

Prisoners, illustrious, in the Tower... 313 
Prizes of the Exposition distributed... 160 

Provincial dialects 343 

Protection, a necessity in the United 

States, 112; principle of 348 

Protestant Church in Ireland, 283; 
O'Connell's report on, 288; reduced 

by Lord Derby 290 

Prussia, King of, at Wiesbaden, 242 ; 

military organization 255 

Ptyalism, American 341 

Public Lands' system in America 135 

Queen Victoria's book 292 

Queenstown 25 

Quentin Matsys, the blacksmith- 
painter , 270 

Eachel Felix, tomb of 177 

Eastadt, military station in Baden... 238 

Eag-fair in Houndsditch 320 

Eailroads, British system of, 38 ; left- 
baggage room, 39 ; commercial 

travellers on, 40; low salaries 40 

Eailwayism and factories 38 

Eailwayism, British, 119; taking in 
water at full speed, 119 ; post-office 
car, 119; the clearing-house, 119; 
stock of London and l^orthwestern 

Eailroad .. 120 

Ealeigh, Sir Walter, his prison-cell... 309 

Eebel leaders in exile 82 

Eeconstruction, American 207 

Eeform and Eevolution 49 

Eeform bill, debate on, 48 ; received 
the royal assent, 304; a mean to- 
wards a great end 305 

Eepublican, French, leaders of 1848 

mostly dead or banished 150 

Eestaurants in London 345 

Eestaurants in Paris , 347 

Ehigi Mountain 225 

Ehine, the, compared with American 
rivers, 251 ; scenic eflfects on, 252 ; 
dearness of every thing Ehinish, 
253; the almighty florin, 253 ; points 
of attraction, 253 ; Ehrenbreitstein 

and Cologne, 254; steamers on 359 

Eichard the Third and Lord Hastings 313 

Eiver steamboats 359 

Eoman brigands 252 

Eomanism, political tendency of. 135 



I Eossini, the composer, in tbe Palace 

j of Industry 162 

Eothermel, P. F.. historical picture 

of battle of Gettysburg 202 

Eotterdam 275 

Eouher, M., President of the Paris 

Exposition 163 

Eousseau, Jean Jacques, at Geneva... 228 

Eowsley, the Peacock Inn at ,.... 282 

Eoyal assent, how given 304 

Eoyal authorship, 292; Victoria's 
early life of Prince Albert, 292 ; ex- 
pected revelations, 293 ; Eoyal and 

Imperial heirs apparent 294 

Eoyal Exchange of London 317 

Eussian miniature palace in Paris 

Exposition 136 

Eutland, Duke of, owner of Haddon 
Hall 110 



St. Frideswide, Monastery of, its 

ruins at Oxford 115 

St. George's Chapel, Windsor 93 

St. John's Market, Liverpool 33 

St. Paul's Cathedral (vide Paul's, St.) 
Samaritan woman, fountain of the ... 100 
Sanders, George N., passes through 

the British Bankruptcy Court 84 

Sanderson, James M., manager of 

Langham Hotel, London 79 

Sandringham Park, Norfolk, Prince 

of Wales's country seat 93 

Sanitary Commission, collection of 
its articles, 138 ; its history, 142 ; 

literature of. 143 

Savoy transferred to France 228 

Saxe, JolinG 20 

Scandinavian experiences 26 

Scavenger's daughter, the 310 

Schevingen, Dutch watering-place.... 275 
Schiitzenfest, the, 386 ; advantage of 
389 ; lively scenes at, 390 ; rifle- 
shooting at, 392 ; prizes 393 

Schwytz in the valley of the Muott... 390 
Schwytzers, the, 386; the Cantons 

adopt their name 388 

Scotia, Mail Steamship 20-22 

Seasons, the, in Germany 262 

Senate, the French, appointed by the 
Emperor, 151; Hall of, 173; arrange- 
ment of seats, and parties in, 173 ; 
the tribune, 173 ; session-house of 
the Directory, the Consuls, and 
the Socialists of 1848, 174 ; Sen- 
atorial secret sessions 174 

Sermon, description of one by C. H. 

Spurgeon 71 

Shakspeare's grave 108 

Shilling, the universal 214 

Shilling dinners in London 346 

Simpson, his Billingsgate table d'hOte 345 

Silica, application of 364 

Smith, Professor Golding, his liberal 
views, 54 ; address at Manchester 
bv, 59 ; personal knowledge of 
America, 60 ; lectures on the study 

of history 116 

"Soil, legal divisions of the 337 

Solferino, panorama of 203 



Index, 



405 



Solidity of Liverpool.-. 32 

Smoking, frequency of, in Europe...... 340 

Somerby, Mr., Secretary of Peabody 

fund 62 

Southwark, borough of, 363; bridge.. 362 

Spanish Armada 310 

Speaker of the House of Commons 46 

Speaker's gallery, the 45 

Spitalflelds, Peabody buildings at.... 66 
Spurgeon, Cha.rles Haddon,his Taber- 
nacle at Kennington, 69 ; his person 
and preaching, 70 ; his ministerial 

career 71 

Stausfield, James, his liberal views... 61 
Stanley, Lord, president of Peabody 

fund 62 

Steamships, direct line of, between 

Philadelphia and Europe 99 

Stenographer, yearly salary of a 100 

Stewart, A. T., of New York, his pro- 
posed habitations for the laboring 

poor 68 

Stille, Dr. C. J., his history of Sani- 
tary Commission 142 

Straits of Dover 125 

Stratford-on-Avon, 104 ; Mr. Flower, 
president of the Shakspearian ter- 
centenary, 105 ; Shakspeare's birth- 
house, 106 ; the church, 106 ; relics, 
106; his epitaph, 108 ; Ben Jonson 
on his portrait ; his latest residence 

Street carriages in Paris 395 

Streets of Liverpool 35 

Strikes in England and America 76 

Suffrage, extension of the 49 

Sultan, the, in the Palace of Indus- 
try, Paris, 161 ; described 164 

Sunday in London, 69, 319 ; in Wind- 
sor 93 

Sunday in Paris, 182 ; how spent, 183; 
in the Champ de Mars, 183; the 
Champ Elysees thronged, 184 ; the- 
atres and other places of amuse- 
ment, 185; a gala-day at Versailles, 
185 ; the Pre Catalan in the Bois de 
Boulogne, 185 ; horse-races, 186 ; 
markets open, 186; masons at work, 
186; night orgies, 187; balls of the 

demi-monde 1S7 

Sunday travel a religious necessity 

in London , 321 

Sunshine in France 125 

Swiss Kepublic, predominant relig- 
ion of, 227 ; sympathy with the 

Union 231 

Swiss towns, 222 ; Vevay, 223 ; Inter- 
lachen, Ziirich, and Thun, 223; 

Lausanne, 225; Geneva 227 

Switzerland, from Paris to, 205 ; wo- 
men's field labor, 206 ; Swiss barns, 
206 ; at Berne, 207 ; sympathy with 
the Unionists, 209; Geneva, 211; 
Castle of Chillon, 211 ; beautiful 
scenery, 212; hotels, 212; absence 
of beggars, 214; the glaciers, 216; 
the Jung-frau, 216 ; Swiss Legisla- 
ture, 217 , the (jovernment, 218 ; 
no Veto allowed, 219 ; revenue and 
expenditure, 219 ; the army, 219 ; 
splendid roads, 220 ; editcation, 220; j 



resemblance to Pennsylvania, 221 ; 

statistics 226 

Sydenham, Crystal Palace at 85 

Tabernacle, Mr. Spurgeon's 69 

Tell,William, shoots Gessler, 387 ; his 
escape at the Tellen-Platte, 388; 

belief in his adventures 388 

Ten's Chapel, 387; on the Tellen- 
Platte 388 

Temperance of the Gei-mans 262 

Tennent, Sir J. Emerson, trustee of 

Peabody Fund... , 62 

Thames, width of the 362 

Thames, steamboats, 322 ; disadvan- 
tages of 361 

Thames Embankment 363 

Thames Tunnel, a pecuniary failure, 
321 ; highly estimated by foreign- 
ers, 322; river-approach to, 322; 
various attempts to construct, 324 ; 
Brunei's plan, 324; commence- 
ment, work, failures, completion, 
and cost, 325; purchased by the 

Under-ground Eailroad 327 

Theatres in London, 56-7 ; prices of 

admission 58 

Thirty Years' War, Motley's, pro- 
jected History of 

Thomas h, Kempis' " De Imitatione 
Christi," illusti-ated translation.... 202 

Thomas, William W., letter from 26 

Thun, town of, 223; Lake of 224 

" Times, The,'''' office of, 379 ; impo- 
sing-room, advertisements, proof- 
reading, and composition, 380 ; and 
library, editors, reporters, 381 ; res- 
taurants, savings-fund, sick-fund, 
and medical fund, 381 ; wages, 
stereotyping, paper, and wetting 
machine, 382 ; steam presses and 
printing, 383 ; circulation, price, 
and size, 384 ; invisible editors, 

385; telegraphic news 385 

Tolls, none on Swiss and Irish roads, 398 
Tomb of Napoleon 1. in the Church of 
the Invalides, 166 ; description of, 
167 : the sarcophagus, 167 ; sword of 
Austerlitz, 168; cost of the tomb... 169 
Toombs, Eobert, of Georgia, a refu- 
gee in London 84 

Tower of London, 306 ; its reputed 
founder, 307; the "Beef-eaters," 
307 ; Lord de Eos, historian of, 307 ; 
Waiter's Gate, the Bloodv Tower, 
and the Bell Tower, 308; White 
Tower, Beauchamp Tower, and 
Bowyer Tower, 309 ; Martiu Tower, 
the Howe Armory, and Queen Eliz- 
abeth's Armory, 310 ; the Jewel- 
house, 311 ; Eoyal and noble vic- 
tims, 312 ; the fortress, palace, and 
prison, 313; State prisoners, 314; 
Tower Hill, great fire at, 318; 

Penn's birth-place, near the 319 

Towns in Switzerlaad 222 

Travelling Companions 20 

Trevithick, Cornish engineer, at- 
tempts to tunnel the Thames 324 



4o6 



Index, 



Under-Ground Eailroad in London, 
85 ; description of, 86 ; revisited, 
320; Thames Tunnel purchased for 321 
Union Soldier, in the Crystal Palace 

at Sydenham '. 88 

Universal Exposition of 1S67 133 

Upton, Horace, U. S. Consul at Geneva 231 
Ure, Dr., suggested use of Asphaltum 
for pavements , 394 

Veto, not allowed in Switzerland 219 

Victoria, Queen, her book 292 

Versailles, residence of M. Laboulaye, 

157 ; Sunday, gala at 185 

Vevay, town of 222 

Wages, in Geneva, 230 ; in Belgium, 
264 and 355 ; European, 260 ; Eng- 
lish. 355 

Waiters, English, their pennies 346 

Walpole, Spencer Horatio, Home Sec- 
retary of England , 343 

Walter, Mr. John, prints " The 
Times" by steam-propelled ma- 
chinery 383 

Warwick Castle 110 

Watches, manufacture of at Geneva, 

227; low wages 230 

Webb, Mr., present owner of New- 
stead Abbey Ill 

Wellington's tomb in St. Paul's 302 

Westminster Abbey, 89 ; monumental 



statuary, 89 ; the English Pantheon, 

89 ; footsteps of the past 90 

Westminster Bridge 362 

Westminster, Marquis of, owner of 
Eaton Hall, 335 ; his wealth, how 

increasing 336 

Westminster Palace, decay of 363 

White Tower, in London, founded by 

Cffisar 307 

Wiesbaden, visited by William I., of 
Prussia, 242;- gambler's ball at the 
Kursaal, 243 ; gaming licensed by 
Grand Duke of Nassau, 243; wo- 
men's field labor at 244 

Wigfall, Lewis P., of Texas, and the 

Confederate loan , 84 

Wildman, Col., late owner of New- 
stead Abbey Ill 

William I., of Prussia, at Wiesbaden, 
242; personal appearance, 242 ; how 
received, 245 ; antipathy of Frank- 
fort to, 247 ; ambitious aims of 247 

Williams, Walter, pamphlet by 349 

Windmills in Holland 272 

Windsor, Sunday at, 93 ; view from 
the terrace, 93 ; service in St. 
George's chapel, 94 ; High Church 

ceremonials. 94 

Wolsey, Cardinal, founder of Christ 
Church, Oxford 114 

Ziirich, town of, 223 ; Lake of, 226 ; 
silks of 229 



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The Trail Hunter, 

The Indian Chief, 

The Red Track, 

Pirates of the Prairies,. 



Trapper's Daughter, 75 

The Tiger Slayer, 75 

The Gold Seekers, 75 

The Rebel Chief, 75 

The Smuggler Chief, 75 

The Border Rifles, 75 



GOOD BOOKS EOR EVERYBODY. 



The Refugee, i 

Life of Don Quixotte, 1 



Currer Lyle, the Actress, 1 

Secession, Coercion, and Civil 

War, 1 

The Cabin and Parlor. By J. 

Thornton Randolph, 1 

Memoirs of Vidocq, the noted 

French Policeman, 1 



50 



50 



50 



60 



Wilfred Montressor, 1 50 

Harris's Adventures in Africa,. 1 50 

Wild Southern Scenes, 1 50 

Life and Beauties Fanny Fern, I 50 
Lola Montez' Life and Letters, 1 50 

Lady Maud; or, the Wonder of Kingswood Chase. By Pierce Egan, 1 50 
Above are each in paper cover, or each one in cloth, for $2.00 each. 

Whitefriars; or, The Days of Charles the Second. Illustrated, 1 00 

Southern Life ; or, Inside Views of Slavery, 1 00 

The Rich Men of Philadelphia, Income Tax List of Residents, 1 00 

Political Lyrics. New Hampshire and. Nebraska in 1854. Illust'd. 12 



Books sent, postage paid, on receipt of the Retail Price, by 
T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 



T. B. PETERSOIf & BROTHERS' PUBLICATIONS. 7 



GECRGE W. M. EEYBOLDS' WORKS. 



Mysteries of Court of London,.. 

Rose Foster. Sequel to it, 

Caroline of Brunswick,.... 

Venetia Trelawney, 

Lord Saxondale, ^ 

Count Christoval, 

Rosa Lambert, 

The above are each in paper 

The Opera Dancer, 

Child of Waterloo, 

Robert Bruce, 

Discarded Queen, 

The aipsy Chief, 

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots,... 

Wallace, Hero of Scotland, 

Isabella Vincent, 

Vivian Bertram, 

Countess of Lascelles, 

Loves of the Harem, 

Ellen Percy, 

Agnes Evelyn, 



Mary Price, 

Eustace Quentin, 

Joseph Wilmot, , 

Banker's Daughter, 

Kenneth, 

The Rye-House Plot, 

The Necromancer, 

or in cloth, price $2.00 each. 

The Soldier's Wife, 

May Middleton, 

Duke of Marchmont, 

Massacre of Glencoe, 

Queen Joanna; Court Naples, 

Pickwick Abroad, 

Parricide, 

The Ruined Gamester, 

Ciprina; or, Secrets of a Pic- 

tur.e Gallery, 

Life in Paris, 

Countess and the Page, 

Edgar Montrose, 



00 
00 
00 
00 
00 
00 
00 

75 
75 
75 
75 
75 
75 
75 
50 

50 
60 
60 
50 



WAVERLEY NOVELS. BY SIR WALTER SCOTT. 



Ivanhoe, , 

Rob Roy, 

Guy Mannering, 

The Antiquary 

Old Mortality 

Heart of Mid Lothian,.. 
Bride of Lammermoor,. 

Waverley, 

St. Ronan's Well, 

Kenilworth, 

The Pirate, 

The Monastery, 

The Abbot, 

The Fortunes of Nigel,. 

Peveril of the Peak, 

Quentin Durward, 



Red Gauntlet, ., 60 

The Betrothed, 50 

The Talisman, 50 

Woodstock, 50 

Highland Widow, etc 50 

The Fair Maid of Perth, 50 

Anne of Geierstein, 50 

Count Robert of Paris, 50 

The Black Dwarf and Legend 

of Montrose, 60 

Castle Dangerous, and Sur- 
geon's Daughter, 60 

Moredun. ATa.loofl210, 50 

Tales of a Grandfather, vol. 1, 25 
Life of Sir Walter Scott. By 

J. G. Lockhart, cloth, 2 60 



"NEW NATIONAL EDITION" OF " WAVEELEY NOVELS." 
This is the cheapest edition of the " Waverley Novels" published in the 
world, all of them being contained in Jive large octavo volumes, with a por- 
trait of Sir Walter Scott, the whole making nQarlj four thousand very large 
double columned pages, in good type, and handsomely printed on the finest 
of white paper, and bound in the strongest and most substantial manner. 

Price of a set, in Black cloth, in five volumes, $15 00 

" " Full sheep, Library style, 17 50 

« " Half calf, antique,". 25 00 

" " Half calf, full gilt backs, etc 25 00 

. The Complete Prose and Poetical Works of Sir Waltetr Scott, are also 
published in ten volumes, bound in half calf, for $60.00. 



1^ Books sent, postag-e paid, on receipt of the Retail Price, by 
T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 



8 T. B. PETEESON & BEOTHERS' PUBLICATIONS. 



W. H. AINSWOETH'S BEST WOEKS. 



Life of Jack Sheppard, 50 

Guy Fawkes, 75 

Above in 1 vol., cloth, $2.00. 

The Star Chamber, 75 

Old St. Paul's, 75 

Courtof Queen Anne, 50 

Dick Turpin, 50 

Life of Davy Crockett, 50 

Life of Grace O'Maliey, 50 

Life of Henry Thomas, 25 



Tower of London, 1 50 

Miser's Daughter, 1 GO 

Above in cloth $2.00 each, 

Courtof the Stuarts, 75 

Windsor Castle, 75 

Desperadoes of the NewWorld, 25 

Xinon De L'Enclos, 25 

Life of Arthur Spring, 25 

Life of Mrs. "Whipple and Jes- 

see Strang, 25 



G. P. E. JAMES'S BEST BOOKS. 

Lord Montague's Page, 1 50 1 The Cavalier, 1 50 

The above are each in paper cover, or'in cloth, price $2.00 each. 

The Man in Black, 75 I Arrah Neil, 75 

Mar}^ of Burgundy, 75 I Eva St. Clair, 50 

WAE NOVELS. BY HENEY MOEFOED. 

Shoulder-Straps, 1 50 I The Days of Shoddy. A His- 

The Coward, 1 50 I tory of the late War. 1 50 

Above are each in paper cover, or each one in cloth, for $2.00 each. 

BY THE BEST AIJTHOES. 

Illustrated Life, Speeches, Martyrdom and Fuaeral of President 

Abraham Lincoln. Cloth, $2.00 ; or paper, 

Illustrated Life and Campaigns of General Ulysses S. Grant. 

Cloth, $1.00; or in paper, 

Illustrated Life and Services of Major-General Philip H. Sheridan. 

Cloth, SI. 00 ; or in paper, 

Life, Speeches and Services of President Andrew Johnson. Cloth, 

$1.00 ; or in paper, 

Trial of the Assassins and Conspirators for the murder of President 

Abraham Lincoln, Cloth, $1.50 ; or cheap edition in paper 

Webster and Hayne's Speeches in Reply to Colonel Foote, 

Roanoke,- or, Where is Utopia? By C. H. Wiley. Illustrated, 



Banditti of the Prairie, 75 

Genevra, 75 

Tom Racquet, 75 

Red Indians of Newfoundland, 75 

Salathiel, by Croly, 75 

Corinne; or, Italy, 75 

Ned Musgrave 75 

Aristocracy, 75 

Inquisition in Spain. 75 

Flirtations in America 75 

The Coquette, 75 

Thackeray's Irish SketehBook, 75 

Whitehall,.. 75 

The Beautiful INuu, 75 

Father Clement, paper,.., 50 

do. do. cloth, 75 

Miser's Heir, paper, 50 

do. do. cloth, 75 



Mysteries of Three Cities, 

NcAv Hope; or, the Rescue, 

Nothing to Say, 

The Greatest Plague of Life,., 

Clifford and the Actress, 

Two Lovers, , 

Ryan's Mysteries of Marriage, 

Fortune Hunter, 

The Orphan Sisters, 

The Romish Confessional. By 

Michelet, 

Victims of Amusements, 

General Scott's $5 Portrait.... 

Henry Clay's $5 Portrait, 

Violet, 

Montague; or, Almacks,.. 

Tangarua, a Poem, 

Alieford, a Family History,.... 



1 50 

75 

75 

75 

50 
75 
75 
75 
75 
75 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 

50 

50 

I 00 

1 00 

50 

50 

1 00 

50 



Ig^ Books sent, postage p^.id. on Receipt of tho Retail Price, by 
T, B. Peterson & Brothers!. Philadelphia, Pa, 



T. B. PETEESO^ & EEOTHEES' PUBLICATIONS. S 



HITMOEOUS AMEEICAM WORKS. 



Beautifully illustrated 

Major Jones' Courtship, 75 

Major Jones' Travels,., 75 

Simon Suggs' Adventures and 

Trcavels, 75 

Major Jones' Chronicles of 

Pineville,.,. 75 

Polly Peablossom's Wedding,.. 75 

Mysteries of the Backwoods,... 75 

Widow Rugby's Husband........ 75 

Big Bear of Arkansas 75 

Western Scenes; or, Life on 

the Prairie, 75 

Streaks of Squatter Life, 75 

Pickings from the Picayune,... 75 
Stray Subjects, Arrested and 

Bound Over, 75 

Louisiana Swamp Doctor, ' 75 

Charcoal Sketches, 75 

Misfortunes of Peter Faber, 75 

Yankee among the Mermaids,.. 75 

New Orleans Sketch Book, 75 



hy Felix 0. G. Barley. 

Drama in Pokerville,.. 75 

The Quorndon Hounds, 7& 

My Shooting Box,.. 75 

Warwick Woodlands, 75 

The Deer Stalkers, 75 

Peter Ploddy, 75 

Adventures of Captain Farrago, 75 
Major O'Regan's Adventures,.. 75 
Sol. Smith's Theatrical Appren- 
ticeship, 75 

Sol. Smith's Theatrical Jour- 

uey-Work, „... 75 

The Quarter Race in Kentucky, 75 

Aunt Patty's Scrap Bag, 75 

Percival Mayberry's Adven- 
tures and Travels,.. 75 

Sam Slick's Yankee Yarns and 

Yankee Letters, , 75 

Adventures of Fudg^ Fumble,. 75 

American Joe Miller, 50 

Following the Drum,..,.. 5(y 



B'ISEAELI'S WOEKS. 



Henrietta Temple,. 

Vivian Grey, 

Venetia 



Young Duke, 

Miriam Alroj', 

Contarina Flemina;, 



FEAISTK FAIELEGH'S WOEKS. 

Frank Fafrlegh, 75 I Harry Backet Scapegrace, 75 

Lewis Arundel, 75 I Tom Racquet, 75 

Finer editions of above are also issued in cloth, at $2.00 each. 
Harry Coverdale's Courtship, 1 50 j Lorrimer Littlegood, 1 b^ 

The above are each in paper cover, or in cloth, price $2.00 each. 

C. J. PETEESOH'S WOEKS, 

The Old Stone Mansion, 1 50 | Kate Aylesford, 1 

The above are each in paper cover, or in cloth, price $2.00 each. 

Cruising in the Last War, 75 I Grace Dudley: or, Arnold at 

Valley Farm, 25 | Saratoga, 

JAMES A. MAITLAND'S WOEKS. 



50 



50 



Diary of an Old Doctor, 1 50 

Sartaroe, 1 50 

The Three Cousins,..; 1 50 



The Old Patroon, 1 50 

The Watchman, 1 50 

The Wanderer, 1 50 

The Lawyer's Story, 1 50 

The above are each in paper coA'-er, or in cloth, price $2.00 each. 

WILLIAM H. MAXWELL'S WOEKS. 

Wild Sports of the West, 75 I Brian O'Lynn,...' 75 



Stories of Waterloo, 



75 



1^ Books sent, postage paid, on receipt of the Eetail Price, by 
T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 



10 T. B. PETERSOIf & BUOTHERS' PUBLICATIONS. 



LANGUAGES WITHOOT A MASTBK. 

French without a Master, 40 j Grerman without a Master,. ,„„ 40 

Spanish without a Master, 40 Italian without a Master, 40 

Latin without a Master, 40 • 

The above five works on the French, German, Spanish, Latin, and 
Italian Languages, without a Master, whereby any one or all of thoso 
Languages can be learned by any one without a Teacher, with the aid of 
this great book, by A. H. Monteith, Esq., is also published in finer style, 
complete in one large volume, bound, price, $2.00. 



HAERY COCKTON'S WORKS. 

Sylvester Sound, 75 i The Sisters, 75 

Valentine Vox, in paper, 75 The Steward,..- 75 

do. finer edition, cloth, 2 00 I Percy Effingham, 75 

HUMOROUS ILLUSTRATED WORKS. 

Each one full of Illustrations, hy Felix 0. 0. Barley, and hound in Cloth. 



High Life in New York, by 
Jonathan Slick, cloth, 2 00 

Judge Halliburton's Yankee 
Stories. Illustrated, cloth,... 2 00 

Major Thorpe's Scenes in Ark- 
ansaw. 16 illustrations, cloth 2 00 

The Big Bear's Adventures and 
Travels. 18 engravings, cloth 2 00 

Modern Chivalry, cloth, 2 00. 

Harry Coverdale's Courtship 
and Marriage, cloth, 2 00 

The Swamp Doctor's Adven- 
tures in the South-West. 14 
illustrations, cloth, 2 00 



Major Jones' Courtship and 

Travels. Illustrated, cloth, 2 00 
Simon Suggs' Adventures and 

Travels. Illustrated, cloth, 2 00 
Piney "Wood's Tavern,* or, Sam 

Slick in Texas, cloth, 2 00 

Sam Slick, the Clockmaker, 

cloth, 2 00 

Humors of Faleonbridge, 2 00 

Neal's Charcoal Sketches, 21 

illustrations, 2 50 

Major Jones' Scenes in Ge^gia, 

cloth, .* 2 00 

Captain Priest's Adventures,... 2 00 



DOW'S PATENT SERMONS. 

Sermons, 1st Dow's Patent Sermons, 3d 

Series, $1.00; cloth, 1 50 

Dow's Patent Sermons, 4th 
Series, $1.00 : cloth, 1 50 



Dow's Patent 

Series, $1.00,- cloth, 1 50 

Dow's Patent Sermons, 2d 

Series, $1.00 ; cloth, 1 50 



MISS ELLEN PICKERING'S WORKS. 

The Grumbler, 75 Who Shall be Heir ? 38 

Marrying for Money, 75 The Squire,... 38 

Poor Cousin, 50 Ellen Wareham, 38 

Kate Walsingham, 50 Nan Darrel, j..« 38 

Orphan Niece, 50 

THE SHAKSPEARE NOVELS. 

By Robert Folkstone Williams. 

The Secret Passion, 1 00 I Shakspeare and his Friends,... 1 00 

The Youth of Shakspeare, 1 00 I 

The three above Books are also published complete in one large octavo 
volume, bound in cloth. Price Pour Dollars. 



J^ Books sent, postage paid, on receipt of the Eetail Price, by 
T. B. Peterson & Brothers, Philadelphia, Pa. 



GET UP YOUS CLUBS FOR 1868 ! ISTOW IS THE TIME !' 



PETERSON'S MAGAZIME 

THE BEST AND CHEAPEST XH THEV/ORLBI 

This popular Monthly contains move for the money than any in the world. lU 
merit and cheapness are best proved by the fact, that in 1867, its circulation ex- 
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further improved, where improvement may be found possible. It will contain 
nearly 1000 pages, 14 steel plates, 12 double-sized mammoth colored steel fashion 
plates, and 900 wood engravings— and all this for only TWO DOLLARS A YEAR, or 
a dollar less than magazines of its class. Every lady ought to take " Peterson." In 
the general advance of prices, it is THE ONLY MAGAZINE THAT DID NOT 
EAISE ITS PRICE. It is, therefore, emphatically, 

THE l¥iACAZiriE FOR THE TII^ES. 

The stories in "Peterson" are conceded to be the lest published anywhere. Mrs. 
Ann S. Stephens, Amanda M. Douglas, Mary Bayard Clark, Ella Rodman, Frank Lee 
Benedict, Mrs. R. Hardiug Davis, author of " Margaret Howth," E- L. C. Moulton, 
Gabrielle Lee, Rosalie Grey, Clara Augusta, and the authors of " The Second Life," 
of " Susy L's Diary," and of " Dora's Cold," besides all the other popular female 
writers of America, are regular contributors. In addition to the usual number of 
shorter stories, there will be given in 1868, at least Four Original Copy-righted 
Novelets, viz: 

The Bride of tlie Prairie. The Tragedy of Pani^Tiier. 

By Mrs. ANN S. STEPHENS. By the Author of " THE SECOND LIFE." 

Guiitv or not Snilty. P. P. P. 

By AMANDA M. DOUGLAS. By FRANK LEE BENEDICT. 

In its illustrations also, " Peterson " is unrivalled. The Publisher challenges a 
comparison between its STEEIi AHTD OTHER, ENGRAVINGS, 
and those in otber Magazines, and 1 steel engraving at least is given in each number. 

nvEA.3vinvtoa:ii col,or,ed ir^smoisr plates. 

Each number will contain a double-size Fashion plate, engraved on steel and 
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SUPERB COLORED PATTERNS FOR SLIPPERS, PURSES, CHAIR SEATS, &c., 
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RECEIPTS FOR COOKING, THE TOILETTE, SICK ROOM, etc., etc. 

The original Household Receipts of "Peterson" are quite famous. For 1868 
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NEW AND FASHIONABLE MUSIC in every number. Also, Hints on Horti- 
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Address, post-paid, CHARLES J. PETERSON, 

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